Evil: The Other Side
by SocialButterfli
Summary: Starfire has always been sweet and innocent. But when Slade realizes her power, he brainwashes her to become his next apprentice and the Titans can only watch as she embraces the other side. Is it possible that Starfire has become truly evil? RobStar
1. Part One: Innocence

_Evil: The Other Side_

by Blair Lebeau, SocialButterfli

Summary:

Starfire has always been sweet and innocent. But when Slade realizes her power, he brainwashes her to become his next apprentice and the Titans can only watch as she embraces the other side. Is it possible that Starfire has become truly evil? RobStar

Disclaimer:

You'd think that if I owned Teen Titans, I would have told you by now. But I don't. Still. Damn.

Also, I'm trying out this new thing where I'm going to have a quote from each chapter that I particularly liked . . . it might be funny, or serious, or random, or just a line that I think is the highlight of the chapter. Just cause I can!

Quote:

"Uh, man, you can get up now. I think you got her." –Cyborg

Dedication:

To CidGregor . . . without you, this story might not have made it.

* * *

_Part One: Innocent_

Chapter One

Starfire frowned as she watched a caterpillar try to make its way through the overgrown grass. It was having such a hard time; whenever it finally got past one towering blade of grass, there was always another in its way. She wasn't quite sure where it was going, but she wished she did because then maybe she could help it get there. Where did caterpillars live, anyway?

"Star? What are you doing?" Robin crouched down next to her, trying to follow her gaze to whatever it was that she was watching so intently. Because a caterpillar was an ordinary, everyday bug to him, he didn't notice its struggle or the fact that it existed at all.

"Oh, I do wish that I could help it find its way home," Starfire said, pouting. Robin looked at her perplexed face, confused.

"What are you looking at?" he asked. She turned her gaze to him and the look on her face suggested that it should be obvious to him. But it wasn't.

"This many-legged being," she answered, gesturing to it. The caterpillar had safely conquered two more blades of grass. Only about a million more to go. "It is having such a difficult time and I wish that I could help it." Robin couldn't help it, he had to laugh. Her never ending fascination and compassion for everything in life, no matter how big or small, important or insignificant, was one of the many, many things that he loved about her.

"You mean a caterpillar?"

"Oh, please do not laugh at me," Starfire pouted. "If I had so many obstacles between myself and Titans Tower, I would be truly despaired and would welcome any assistance. I merely wish to do the same for this poor creature." Carefully, she extended a fingertip so she could pet it, in what she thought would be a comforting way, but the caterpillar reared up and changed its direction so as to get away from her. She drew back, surprised and saddened by the rejection. Robin fought the urge to laugh once more, because he knew her feelings were genuinely hurt by this.

"Star," he began, his voice patient and tender. He never minded explaining things to her. Sometimes he would get so caught up in her he would ramble on and on about things that she hadn't even asked about, and it would be her turn to be patient as she listened with interest before he caught himself. It was another thing about her that marveled him. She always did seem genuinely interested whenever anyone was talking about anything, even Beast Boy with his awful, waste of life jokes.

"Why does it turn away from me?" she interrupted, looking so dejected that it broke his heart. "I only wished to help." He smiled at her reassuringly and put a hand on her shoulder.

"I know, Star, but it doesn't know that. It just knows that some gigantic thing touched it and, for it, that was cause for alarm. How would you feel if out of nowhere something with the power to squish you poked you?" Starfire gasped with alarm.

"Oh, no, but Robin, I did not wish to harm it, only to help it," she repeated. "The poor little . . ." Star trailed off as she reached for it again, once more intending to comfort it, but Robin grabbed her hand gently.

"Maybe you should let it be, Star. It's a part of nature, not to be messed with. I promise you, it knows what it's doing. It will be fine. I promise." Appeased, Starfire nodded.

"I will, as you say, not 'mess with it' any longer. Shall we return to our friends?" Robin nodded, stood, and reached out a hand to help her up. It was a wasted effort, as she had already sprung up beside him, eager to join the team. He let his hand hang there for a moment, untouched by Starfire, and felt an undeniable surge of wistfulness that Starfire would suggest them staying together, alone, by themselves, instead of going back. He enjoyed their moments together, and he would like to think that she did too, but she always seemed a little too willing to share him with everyone else. He wished that just for once in her life the extraordinarily selfless girl would be at least a little selfish when it came to him.

Starfire flew over to the group, sitting on a red-and-white-checked blanket and eating the feast that Cyborg and Beast Boy had prepared. Well, technically, only Cyborg was eating what he made, and only Beast Boy was eating what he made. Raven was drinking herbal tea from a Thermos and reading a book. Starfire could tell by the agitated expression on her face, not to mention the pieces of food stuck in Beast Boy's green hair, that the boys had gotten into a food fight before she had arrived. As she kneeled beside Raven on the blanket, Robin came up from behind her. He had remained behind for a second after she stood, just to scoop the caterpillar up and place it near a tree. He took in the scene before him and shook his head. Cyborg and Beast Boy never seemed to be able to refrain from being immature.

"I'm not even going to ask," he said, sitting next to Starfire and taking an unharmed drumstick from the bucket. "Because I'm pretty sure I don't want to know." Cyborg and Beast Boy took a moment away from their food to glare at each other, then went back to chowing down. Starfire noticed this, and it troubled her.

"Oh, please friends, do not exchange angry stares on this glorious day," she pleaded. "Let us all enjoy our picnic together, please!" She proceeded to take both a chicken leg and a tofurkey leg and took a bite out of both at the same time. Everyone stared at her as her smile faded and her face contorted to show her obvious dislike of what she had just eaten. She struggled to swallow, put both drumsticks down on the plate in front of her, and grimaced. Realizing that everyone was watching her, she quickly smiled, but everyone could tell it was fake.

"Mm," she said weakly. "How delightful!" Beast Boy and Cyborg started to snicker, and Raven lifted to her book to cover up the slight smile she couldn't hide. Robin laughed as well, and Star joined in, always able to have a laugh at herself. A low chuckle even escaped Raven's mouth, which she attempted to disguise with a cough.

"Nice try, Star," Cyborg said between laughs. "Now who's up for some football?"

"Meeee!" Beast Boy cried, and the two boys jumped up and raced out to the open green field. Cyborg held the football high over his head and the much shorter Beast Boy jumped up and down, trying to get at it. Raven shook her head and continued to read, muttering something about, "Boys," but this only caused Robin and Starfire to laugh harder as they stood and followed their teammates onto the field.

It was Cyborg and Robin vs. Beast Boy and Starfire, which Beast Boy immediately voiced as unfair after the first touchdown.

"That shouldn't count!" Beast Boy demanded. "You guys are cheating or something! Cy, you probably have some nano-thingies inserted in the football that make it magnetic so it clings to you, you big hunk of tin!"

"Hey! Watch what you're saying!" Cyborg yelled. "And of course that touchdown counts, we didn't do anything illegal! You're just jealous that we're better than you."

"Raaae," Beast Boy whined, turning to the uninterested cloaked girl. "If you won't play, at least be referee so you can keep those cheaters from cheating!" Raven looked up from her book and raised an eyebrow.

"Fine," she said, standing and walking over to the edge of the field. "Cyborg and Robin scored, so they get the points. And the teams _are_ fair, because both you and Starfire can fly. It's hard to determine 'fair' when you all have supernatural abilities." _Except for Robin_, she thought, but she knew that he was sensitive to that so she didn't say anything. He kicked ass anyway.

They began the game again after Cyborg had sufficient time to do his victory dance while Beast Boy stuck his tongue out at him. Beast Boy had possession of the football, and before Cyborg could lunge at him, he turned into a cheetah and ran with the ball in his mouth. But Cyborg was still gaining speed, so he turned into a gorilla and threw the ball to Starfire, who was hovering near the end zone. She flew forward to catch the ball in the air, and then turned to go back and score. But before she got there, Robin jumped up and managed to grab her around the ankles, bringing the both of them down. Knocked out of her hands, the ball landed off limits and started rolling down the hill, which Raven called out of play.

Robin's breath caught in his throat when he realized he had landed on top of Starfire, partly because he was afraid he had hurt her, and partly because the heat from her body was sending electricity through his.

"Are you okay?" he asked her quickly, but not moving off of her. She nodded, and he noticed that she was smiling. He sighed with relief. Now he could just focus on the fact that there was nothing separating his body from hers . . .

"That was a glorious execution of play," she commented breathlessly.

"Yeah . . ." he said, not really paying attention to her words. They were _so_ close . . .

"Uh, man, you can get up now," Cyborg said. "I think you got her." Robin's face immediately flushed crimson, and he hoped that Starfire didn't notice. She didn't blush, because she didn't realize the intimacy and the intensity of what had just happened. Robin took this as a sign that she didn't feel the same way about him as he did about her and lifted himself off of her, feeling dejected. He was so stupid. Constantly getting his hopes up about a possible relationship between him and Starfire even though he knew it would never happen. Starfire loved everyone equally. And because betrothal was common on Tamaran, he wasn't even sure if "love" existed in her culture. Did she even know what it was?

"Sorry," he apologized quickly, and held out a hand to help her up. She took it and smiled.

"It is fine," she replied, taking his hand. "But I do believe that it is becoming too dark to continue our game. Shall we proclaim you victorious and return home?"Robin shrugged.

"Sure. Yeah. If that's cool with everybody else." Cyborg and Raven both nodded in agreement, but Beast Boy didn't seem to like that idea too much.

"No way!" he protested vehemently. "You're not getting away that easily! One more play to break the tie!" Cyborg raised an eyebrow.

"Man, what tie?"

"Starfire scored!"

"No she _didn't_. Robin brought her _down_."

"I object! It was a foul! Yellow flag! Green flag! Blue flag! Pink flag! Flag, flag, flag!"

"Man, what are you talking about?" Cyborg shook his head. "Whatever. We're leaving."

"Not until we win!" Beast Boy objected. "We're going to keep playing even if it takes . . ." A loud clap of thunder silenced him, followed by a few drops of rain. The Titans looked at him expectantly, and he sighed, defeated.

"Fine. We'll go. But tomorrow, there's going to be a definite rematch."

"Whatever you say, B," Cyborg replied as he gathered up his picnic items. "But you're getting your own stuff. I ain't touching this tofu crap. And, yo, someone needs to go get the ball."

"I will retrieve it!" Starfire volunteered, and immediately flew in the direction that it had landed. But as she reached the edge of the field, right where the hill begin its descent, she stopped and turned to the team, perplexed.

"Can you see it?" Robin called after her, and she shook her head in response. Robin exchanged glances with the team.

"I'm not getting it," Raven said in a final voice. "It's raining." With that, she headed to the T-car for shelter. That left the three boys. Robin wanted to volunteer to help Starfire, but he knew that if he did, it would look suspicious to the others. The last thing he needed was to give them a reason to tease him.

They agreed on deciding by rock, paper, scissors, which was Robin's idea because he knew Cyborg and Beast Boy both always chose rock. The second he produced scissors, he turned on his heel and ran in Star's direction. The rain was falling steadily now, and if they didn't find the ball soon, they would be thoroughly soaked.

Back at the T-Car, Beast Boy had made a truce with Cyborg long enough to deviously plot against Robin.

"We should just leave them," Beast Boy suggested. "Wouldn't it be funny if they had to walk back in the rain?"

"You two are sadistic," Raven commented, not looking up from her slightly wet book. However, she didn't prohibit them from plotting any further, so they continued. They all knew Robin and Starfire had something going on between them, but Robin was too stubborn to admit it and Starfire was too naive to notice it. And every now and then, when they were feeling generous, they cooked up little schemes to get them alone together. So far, there hadn't been much progress, but it was only a matter of time.

Cyborg put the car into gear and drove off, making sure to make the brakes squeal so Robin would notice the fact that he and Starfire were stuck without transportation, alone, in the rain. Cyborg smiled. Playing matchmaker was fun.

* * *

Well, that was quick. One week later and I've already got a new fic in progress. That's because the softball season is winding down and soon it will be summer and the updates will be much faster this time, I promise. At _least_ one a week, I hope! 

Basically, this idea came to me while I was watching "Birthmark" and I thought to myself, because I'm always thinking about Starfire-centered episodes, what if Slade came back for Starfire instead of Raven and the usually innocent-beyond-belief girl became evil? Hopefully, that idea is interesting, because I'm writing about it. Also, the story will be written in parts, based on Starfire's progress from innocent to evil to . . . well, whatever comes next. Guess you'll just have to keep reading to find out what that is. ;)

That's pretty much it . . . I hope you're intrigued. Read and review, please!

Blair


	2. Part One: Innocence

_Evil: The Other Side_

by Blair Lebeau, SocialButterfli

Summary:

Starfire has always been sweet and innocent. But when Slade realizes her power, he brainwashes her to become his next apprentice and the Titans can only watch as she embraces the other side. Is it possible that Starfire has become truly evil? RobStar

Disclaimer:

You'd think that if I owned Teen Titans, I would have told you by now. But I don't. Still. Damn.

Quote:

"Dance with me." –Starfire

* * *

_Part One: Innocent_

Chapter Two

"Unbelievable. Those two are absolutely unbe_liev_able. Dammit!" Robin ran a gloved hand through his hair, frustrated. Starfire turned from her search for the lost football to him.

"Something troubles you, Robin?" she inquired.

"Yes, something is freaking troubling me," Robin answered, bitterly. Starfire was taken aback by his tone, and bit her lip, distressed. He noticed this and his face softened. "Sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you. It's just Cyborg left."

"Left?"

"Yeah. T-Car and all. Leaving us behind, in the rain, without any way of getting back besides walking."

"Is that so terrible?" Robin stared at the redhead, dumbfounded.

"Is that so terrible? What do you mean, 'is that so terrible'? Of course it's terrible! We have to _walk_ back to Titans Tower. In the _rain_."

"Yes, I understand, I was not born of the day before today," Star replied, a little indignant. "I was merely suggesting that it is not such a travesty. I like the rain. And the tower is not so far from here." Robin shook his head.

"I just can't believe they did this! I'm going to kill them when we get back. They are just so immature. God." Starfire was biting her lip again.

"Then . . . this situation displeases you?"

"Starfire. We are stuck here. In the rain. Alone. Do you not see something wrong with that?" Her lower lip began to tremble.

"Do you not find my company enjoyable?" Robin's eyes widened.

"No! No, I didn't mean it like that! I love spending time with you, really, I do!" _Really, I do,_ Robin thought. _And the rain isn't so bad either, with the way it's making your clothes cling . . . ahh! No, Robin, stop!_ Robin quickly shook those thoughts from his head.

"That's not what I meant. I just meant that I would rather be alone with you in different circumstances." Robin clamped his mouth shut when he realized how that sounded. Luckily, even if Starfire did understand what that meant in different context, she wouldn't have taken it that way.

"I understand. Perhaps we should revert to our search of the misplaced football so that we may return to the tower expediently."

"Actually, Star, perhaps it would be better if we just stopped looking. They deserve it for leaving us here." Starfire clapped her hands.

"How diabolical! Robin, you are truly an excellent schemer." Robin laughed.

"Uh, thanks, I guess. Should we go, then?" Starfire nodded and reached for his hand. Robin could hear his heartbeat pulsing in his ears as her hand clasped his. Even though they were wet and cold, Robin suddenly felt warm, as if she were transferring her body heat to his. He could feel himself starting to get lost in her again, and everything else was fading away . . . he couldn't feel the rain beating down on him, flattening out his stiffly gelled hair, he could only feel her hand holding his possessively. Or, rather, what he would have liked to think was possessively. Knowing Starfire, it most likely wasn't. But a boy could dream. And he was.

Half of Robin hated the fact that she could have this effect on him. For years he had built up around him an impenetrable wall that allowed him to stay focused on what mattered most: his mission of keeping the world–or at least Jump City–safe from evil. But every now and then, that mission would be moved to the back of his mind, and Star would take her place at the front, and she would become what mattered most.

The other half of Robin reveled in it. He loved the way she made him feel, and the fact that someone _could_ make him feel like this. Starfire was perfect in every way, and he loved to fantasize of how it would be if she loved him the way he loved her. This was the half he had to keep in check, because if it was allowed to take control, he would most likely lock Starfire in his room and never let her leave. And that was definitely not the most romantic or ideal situation. Not to mention how distracting it would be to have the beautiful girl completely at his disposal.

Robin pretended that that thought hadn't crossed his mind, because it made a jerk of him, and that was the last thing he wanted. In all honesty, if he had the chance, he would treat Starfire the way she deserved to be treated. He would be a cavalier gentleman, regarding her cautiously and tenderly, never allowing her to be hurt, physically or emotionally. He would take care of her and protect her and, basically, be her hero.

If only.

"Robin? Why do you not answer me?" Her crystal clear voice broke through his thoughts, and he almost jumped with surprise.

"Hmm?" He felt bad that he hadn't been listening to her. He had just been going on and on in his head about how he would treat her right, and here he was, completely ignoring her. Not the best of signs.

"I inquired if you were cold," she repeated. He now noticed that he was shaking slightly, but it wasn't because he was cold . . .

"No, I'm fine. Are you cold?" She shook her head and swung their hands back and forth, emphasizing the fact that they were still holding hands. She was like a little girl, and Robin smiled. Cute.

"I never used to understand the concept of rain," Starfire said. "I thought it was pointless, and inconvenient, as it often would ruin outdoor activities."

"Yeah, rain tends to do that," Robin responded, eyes focused on their hands. He never wanted to let go.

"On Tamaran, rain does not even exist. The atmosphere does not allow it, and we have no need for it there. After all, where would it come from? It does not make sense, to me, at least, for water to fall from the sky."

"I guess it does seem a little strange," Robin agreed. "There's all this condensation going on in the clouds . . ." He noticed that the word "condensation" confused her, so he stopped. "Eh, well, yeah, it's strange."

"Yes. Very strange. But, also, very intriguing. I once saw two little children dancing in the rain."

"Dancing?"

"Yes. They were giggling and stomping around in the small, shallow ponds that the rain made on the ground."

"You mean puddles?"

"Poodles?" Starfire looked horrified. "No! They were not stomping on fluffy dogs!"

"No, no," Robin laughed. "_Pud_dles. That's what the 'small, shallow ponds' that the rain makes are called. Puddles."

"Puddles," she repeated, and let out a little giggle. "What a glorious word! And it seemed like the two children were having a glorious time, and I suppose I have always wished to do that ever since. It is strange, leaping around in small ponds would not be considered as entertainment on Tamaran. But here, it seems like great fun!"

"That's Earth for you. So why don't you?" Robin asked.

"Do what?"

"Jump in the puddles." A great smile brightened Star's face, and she reminded Robin of a kid in a candy shop told that she can have whatever she wants.

"May I?" Robin laughed.

"Of course." She released his hand, which dismayed Robin greatly, and began to splash around. After watching her for a while, Robin's spirits lifted, because she was just so cute and it almost made him want to do it too.

"Join me!" Starfire called out to him.

"What?"

"Please, Robin, join me in the fun of leaping in the puddles!" He hesitated, but her childish, playful attitude was infectious. His resolve fell away and he gave in; he couldn't resist the way she made every little thing exciting. He couldn't resist _her_. He jumped in with her, and she shrieked as his large black steel-toed boots sent water flying everywhere. They jumped from puddle to puddle, trying to see who got the other the wettest. By the time they were exhausted, it was impossible to tell who won because they were both soaked to the bone. Starfire was shivering almost uncontrollably, but that wide, innocent smile never left her face.

"You cold now?" he asked, and she nodded, still smiling. He couldn't help but notice that now her clothes were even wetter than before, and they made her look even more . . . He averted his eyes once more. Not going there.

"But I do not mind, it was worth it to enjoy this great fun," she insisted. However, Robin couldn't stand to see her shake like that, so he offered his cape to warm her up.

"I don't know how much it will help," he warned, "but it's better than nothing." She conceded, but instead of waiting for him to take it off and put it around her, she walked into it, causing him to put his arms around her .He was surprised, but he certainly wasn't going to back out of it. He pulled her to him and just held her for a second. But he knew that it was time to go, as now he was shivering as well.

"I think we should start to actually make our way back home," Robin suggested, but it fell on deaf ears. Starfire was facing the sky, eyes closed, letting the rain fall on her face. When she opened her eyes and lowered her gaze back to Robin, her eyes told him that she wasn't quite ready to go back yet. She pulled away, and Robin reluctantly let her go.

"Dance with me," she said, her voice soft and quiet, and Robin wasn't quite sure he heard her right.

"What?" She giggled and shrugged.

"I just thought it would be enjoyable to dance in the rain. I have never done that, and since we are already wet . . ." Starfire trailed off and twirled around, splashing some more as she did. "I just thought it would be fun." Robin considered this. He hated dancing . . . but he didn't hate dancing with Starfire. They had done it once before at Kitten's prom, and it was one of the best nights of his life. And they _were_ already wet.

He smiled. He wasn't quite ready to go back inside either

Robin held out his hand, and Starfire took it, and he twirled her around and back into his arms. He dipped her back, then pulled her up, and twirled her again. Her cheeks were flushed and her hair was flat and stuck to her face and she had never been more beautiful to him. He brought her close to him once more and brushed her bangs out of her face. She smiled at him as he reveled in the feeling of one hand tenderly caressing her face and the other set firmly on her waist. He wanted to keep holding her like that, but Starfire, innocent and carefree as she was, wouldn't let it get too serious: she twirled out of his arms and into one last puddle, before suggesting that they return to the tower to dry off.

"I would not want our friends to be unaware and worried of where we are," she explained.

"Yeah, well, it's their fault," Robin said sulkily. Even though he was colder than he'd ever been before, he didn't want the moment to end. He twirled her around one last time, then let her go. But she seemed to disagree with that, because as they began to walk in the direction of Titans Tower, she reached for his hand again. And as her fingers laced through his, Robin decided that rain wasn't so bad after all.

* * *

Aww, fluffles! And, sadly, this is where the fluff must come to an end, because I have to stick a plot in here somewhere. Haha stupid plots, always screwing everything up. But it's sort of the point of the story, so it's kinda important. Yeah. 

I was pleased with the reaction to this fic . . . with one chapter I have already received over 20 reviews, which is phenomenal. I love you all SO MUCH. Expectations for this fic seem to be high, so hopefully I won't let you down . . .

And now for the reviewers, whom I love! Remember that just because I don't reply to you, doesn't mean that I don't appreciate and love your review. I either don't have anything to say in reply or I just didn't have time for everyone. But I love you all! You should know that by now.

kao-chan: I would hope that **everyone** cares about Starfire! At least, they should.

Mirage992: lol Aww, so sweet! I'm glad you like so far!

Peppermint Sticks: Ah, thank you so much for the invitation, but C2s do nothing but confuse me. I've tried to have them explained to me many, many times and, sadly, I still don't get it. I appreciate when people put my fics in their C2s but I would make an awful staff member because I'm clueless and I don't read very many fics. I really appreciate you considering me, though, it's such a compliment! I hope I didn't disappoint you, because that's the last thing I want to do, but trust me, with my airheadedness it's best that I stay away from thinks I don't understand. ;)

sky.davis: Aww, thanks, but you might start hating me because once Star turns evil she changes completely, as in her speech and actions, and I'm pretty sure everyone will hate that. Hopefully, you won't though, but I don't count on it.Also I'm glad you liked BB, though, with his flags . . . it just seemed so him to me, so I'm happy that you think I succeeded!

foreverfree: Descriptive and eye catching? Wow, what compliments, especially because I don't deserve them, so thank you!

dragonofraven: Definitely the latter, because I'd like to think it's interesting to read it and then wonder what it's about and where it comes from and why. I think I'll keep it where it is, thanks for the suggestion though.

xox.Annie Potter.xox: I'm glad that you like me so much that you feel the need to read something you don't like, although I wouldn't want you to suddenly stop liking me because you don't like the plotline, but still, so sweet! And by the way, I'm totally jealous that you've seen Stranded. So. Totally. Jealous.

CidGregor: You liar. :D

LilyFire: I'm glad you like it, but, um . . . it's not done yet lol.

JulesFire: Yay! I've missed you! But as for the super fabulousity of this story. . . don't count on it, I'm not sure how well this is going to turn out because it's tough to write Starfire as evil. I'm glad the rock paper scissors thing with Robin and Beast Boy's flags worked out, I love knowing that I was successful with it!

Riles: Ahh! Thank you for catching that, I definitely must have still been caught up in writing first person from In Your Dreams. Silly me, I fixed it. Hopefully, your friend situation is resolved, let me know if I can help. I'm psyched that you're psyched about it!

Okay I promise I'll shut up now. Please keep up your reviews, they make my day!

Blair


	3. Part One: Innocence

_Evil: The Other Side_

by Blair Lebeau, SocialButterfli

Summary:

Starfire has always been sweet and innocent. But when Slade realizes her power, he brainwashes her to become his next apprentice and the Titans can only watch as she embraces the other side. Is it possible that Starfire has become truly evil? RobStar

Disclaimer:

You'd think that if I owned Teen Titans, I would have told you by now. But I don't. Still. Damn.

Quote:

"I don't use cheap hair gel." –Robin

* * *

_Part One: Innocent_

Chapter Three

Raven sat at the breakfast table, idly stirring her tea. There really wasn't any reason that she needed to stir it, because Raven believed that adding sugar or honey ruined the point of having herbal tea. It was just something for her to do while she pretended that she wasn't listening to Beast Boy and Cyborg gossip like giddy middle school girls in the bathroom.

"Did you see how wet they were?" Beast Boy asked, laughing. "They were _soaked_, dude! They looked so funny! And Robin's hair with all that cheap hair gel of his washed out . . . it looked like someone tried to drown them!"

"I don't use cheap hair gel," Robin's amused voice interrupted, causing both of them to jump. Raven hid a small smile. She'd known he was there all along. It was fun to watch Cyborg and Beast Boy bury themselves.

"Robin!" Beast Boy choked on his tofu waffle, and Cyborg had to give him a resounding pound on the back to get him to breathe again.

"Hey, man," Cyborg said, uneasily. "Uh, good morning! Breakfast?" Robin chuckled as the discomfort of his two friends. Nothing could spoil his good mood, not even the gabfest of his immature teammates.

"Yeah, breakfast would be good." He stared Cyborg down until he cracked.

"Then I'll get it for you!" Robin grinned. In addition to leaving them behind in the rain, the fact that he had just caught them gossiping about what they did–not to mention calling his hair gel cheap–was making them skittish around him and almost slaves. All it took was a look and if he said jump off a cliff, it seemed that they would do it. This thought made Robin smile again. Maybe he'd try that one out on Beast Boy.

As he began to enjoy the breakfast Cyborg brought him, complete with three different kinds of meat, Starfire waltzed into the room.

"Glorious morning to all, friends!" she greeted in a sing-song voice. "I trust you all slept well?"

"Yeah, great, good," Beast Boy and Cyborg mumbled together, not looking at her. They were afraid one wrong move would make Robin jump on them. He had been pretty scary when they got back, sopping wet, when he chewed them out over it. Starfire, however, hadn't been furious at all, not that she would have been. But the dazzling smile she had on her face was wider than usual, which was saying something. BB and Cy had been pretty proud of themselves at that, but after Star left the room to dry off, Robin wouldn't tell them anything about what had happened. He had simply yelled at them again.

Raven realized the tensity of the situation, and for fun, she decided to aggravate it even more.

"Looks like you won't be getting your rematch, Beast Boy," she said, casually. "It's still _raining_ outside." Beast Boy and Cyborg shifted in their seats uncomfortably at the mention of rain as Robin glared at them. Starfire, however, lit up.

"The rain continues?" she asked, looking hopeful. She floated over to a window and clapped her hands gleefully when she saw it was true. She whirled around to face Robin. "Look, Robin, it does continue! We could resume dancing, yes?" Beast Boy and Cyborg froze, and slowly turned to face Robin, their grins much wider than Starfire's.

"Dancing?" Cyborg said. "Were you dancing in the rain, Rob?" Robin flushed, feeling heat creeping up into his face. He searched his mind for a response that would make Cyborg and Beast Boy leave him alone but wouldn't hurt Starfire, but he couldn't come up with one.

Luckily for him, the room started to flash red and the Titans emergency alarm went off.

"Saved by the alarm," he muttered as he raced over to the computer. It didn't give off much information, such as who the villain was or what was going on, simply that there was an intrusion in a mechanics warehouse.

"I'll get the T-Car," Cyborg said. "Let's go."

"_I'm_ supposed to say that," Robin said, giving Cy the death glare. Cyborg held up his hands, as if warding him off.

"Sorry, sorry, go ahead."

"Titans, go!" Robin said, satisfied.

"So we can go now?" Beast Boy asked, tentatively. Robin laughed.

"Yeah, I'm just messing with you guys. Let's go."

Robin felt uneasy the entire car ride there, and it wasn't because Beast Boy kept waggling his eyebrows at him and turning around and hugging himself, making it look like he was making out with someone. Luckily, Starfire was in the front seat next to Cyborg so she wasn't witness to what Beast Boy was doing. She wouldn't have understood anyway, and Robin sure as hell didn't want to explain it.

The reason he felt uneasy was the reports didn't state who the intruder was. Robin liked to be informed. It made him feel more in control. As the leader of the Teen Titans, if he wasn't in control, he was nervous because the lives of his teammates, no, the lives of his _friends_ were in his hands. Yes, they could take care of themselves. But they were still his responsibility. And that was a lot to handle.

But in a way, it almost made him feel proud or superior or even special. Because even Batman hadn't had to deal with that. Batman had him to look after and that was all. Robin had four to be responsible for. And when the team succeeded, he liked to think that his leadership was a part of that.

And not knowing who the villain was . . . that was a threat to his so far infallible leadership.

"We're here," Cyborg said, pulling up in front of the dark, closed warehouse. It had a spooky feel, as shut down or abandoned warehouses normally do, but it was elevated here because the rain beating down on the tin roof cast an eerie glow. As they got out of the T-Car, Cyborg made sure that he put the special anti-theft lock on the car, the one he got after he first built it and it was stolen by Sammy and Cash, just to be safe. The Titans walked cautiously towards the warehouse, listening for something, anything. Robin noticed that Starfire was doing her cute lip-biting thing, and impulsively took her hand to reassure her. He mentally cursed himself for doing it, but when she didn't recoil and instead smiled at him, he was glad he did it. He was also glad that no one else noticed the gesture.

Once inside the warehouse, everyone kept their guards up as they shook the rain of them, Beast Boy doing so by turning into a dog, which irritated the others because he got them wetter in the process.

"Thanks, Beast Boy, that really helped," Raven said sarcastically.

"Shh!" Robin looked around; he had heard something. A footstep and a rustle of paper, maybe. Everyone was at their top awareness, but nothing else happened. A moment passed, and the Titans moved on through the heavy metal doors from the lobby into the actual factory, with Robin in the front.

They froze.

"No," Robin gasped, his stomach and heart both sinking. It couldn't be. It wasn't possible.

But it was.

It was Slade.

* * *

Okay, so for that last part, picture "Birthmark" because that's what this is, except Slade came back for Starfire and not Raven, as you will see next chapter. So this is the first time the Titans have seen Slade since Terra took him down . . . way down, as Beast Boy would say. And he still has his nice fire power thing. Which is pretty sucky if you're the Titans. 

I'm short on time right now because I'm off to go see Star Wars 3 (on a school night? gasp!) so I'm going to go straight to my reviewers.

Princess Starfire of Tamaran: **You** need an update? I don't think so. **I** need an update. I'm obsessed with your fic, updates are like oxygen. So I suggest you get on that whole updating thing if you don't want me to pass out from lack of air. Wow, between that and my whole jump out the window thing . . . drama queen much? lol

Lolasurf9: Thanks, but unfortunately this fic isn't finished . . . it will probably end up being the same length as Hey Jealousy. Sorry to disappoint, most people like long stories.

Another 1 of Slade's former apprentices: lol It's so true. He always has to have an apprentice. He can't just leave the poor Titans alone!

xox.Annie Potter.xox: I know exactly what you mean, it's so hard to find the perfect fluff where they don't overdo it, causing it to be unrealistic, but they still satisfy you. It's so exciting to hear that you think I'm one of those authors that can do this awesomely . . . thanks so much! And there is nothing wrong with complete fluff, don't let anyone tell you different!

Samantha: Aww, I'm sorry, to be honest I don't want Starfire to turn evil either, but then the plot would be nonexistant and the fic would fall apart, so I'm afraid I have to do it. Sorry.

CidGregor: lol Your review made me laugh so hard. "ERROR. SUCKINESS NOT FOUND." Very entertaining and sweet, thanks, but unfortunately in the future you will find suckiness quite easily. Because I can't write. You'll see. Wait, why are you reading this? Why aren't you writing? GO! NOW!

Alexi: Bah, don't I know it. I can't stand how many fics there are that aren't well written. What's the point of reading something that you can barely even read in the first place? I'm glad you think my fic's quality, you don't know how much I appreciate that. I hope you'll continue reading!

jjangel9325232: Aww, thank you! I love all your reviews! And the second I have the chance, I will definitely read your story!

Mirage992: lol I'm glad that you thought my fluff was fluffy. That's what I go for when it comes to fluff. It's incredibly important for fluff to be at its fluffiest. lol, thanks!

And now I'mgoing to be late, so I'm going to wrap this up. Don't forget to watch Prophecy this Saturday! STRANDED IS NEXT SATURDAY! YESSS!

Review if you love me!

Blair


	4. Part One: Innocence

_Evil: The Other Side_

by Blair Lebeau, SocialButterfli

Summary:

Starfire has always been sweet and innocent. But when Slade realizes her power, he brainwashes her to become his next apprentice and the Titans can only watch as she embraces the other side. Is it possible that Starfire has become truly evil? RobStar

Disclaimer:

You'd think that if I owned Teen Titans, I would have told you by now. But I don't. Still. Damn. I also don't own the plot of "Birthmark", I am simply borrowing some lines for plot purposes. And I apologize to the TT writers for calling Robin's line cheesy. But we all know that it is.

Quote:

"But the potential that she has . . . she is more powerful than all of you combined. Just imagine if she were _evil_." –Slade

* * *

_Part One: Innocent_

Chapter Four

"I don't know why you came back, but I'm still ready," Robin said, dropping Starfire's hand and stepping in front of her. Half to protect her, half to step up, be the leader, and take control. He still thought that it was between him and Slade.

But this time, it wasn't.

"That's precious, Robin," Slade replied in his sinister yet calm voice. "But I didn't come back for you." He jumped off the metal rail he was standing on and shot a bolt of fire at the Titans . . . or more specifically, at Starfire.

They all jumped out of the way, but it followed Starfire as she flew upwards. Finally she avoided it by flying back down and it hit the ceiling, creating a hole. The Titans were too busy recovering to notice that the fire had followed Starfire.

"Whoa!" Cyborg shouted.

"Since when can Slade do that?" Beast Boy asked.

"I don't know, but he won't be doing it for long," Robin said, incredibly cheesily. He mentally cursed himself for not being able to stop using awful, cheesy battle lines. What was wrong with him? He did it every time, and he knew it was wrong, but he just couldn't stop! It was like a horrible addiction that he couldn't overcome.

"Do you really think you can stop me, Robin?" Slade asked, his eyes narrowing. "You couldn't stop me before, and I was going easy on your because I had an interest in your well-being. But now, with all this _fire_ coursing through my veins, you don't stand a chance."

"If you're not here for me, then who are you after, Slade?" Robin asked, his teeth gritted. He tried to ignore the fact that he was most likely the only person in the world who would get upset when a psychopathic criminal **wasn't** after him. "Tell us!"

"Why tell you, when I can show you?" With that, Slade clapped his hands together, and then separated them so that his arms were stretched out on either side of his body. Accordingly, two great flames pushed Robin and Cyborg to one side, Beast Boy and Raven to the other, leaving Starfire alone and standing directly in front of the villain. He sent another stream of fire at her, and this time, he didn't miss.

"Starfire!" Robin called out as she hit the wall and crumpled to the ground. Robin raced over to her, followed by the other Titans. He kneeled next to her and helped her sit up by leaning against him, his arms around her. "Star, are you okay?"

"I . . . I believe I am unhurt," she replied, but she was clearly not. She was burned and breathing hard. Slade's evil laugh echoed throughout the empty warehouse. The Titans looked up, alert.

"What do you want with her?" Robin demanded to know, setting Starfire against the wall so he could stand and face his enemy.

"What do I want with her?" There was a malicious tone to his voice that made Robin especially nervous. "Do you have any idea how powerful this alien girl is? No, you wouldn't, because her innocent, sweet nature tones down that power. But the potential that she has . . . she is more powerful than all of you combined. Just imagine if she were _evil_."

Suddenly, Slade was encased in an explosion of green light that came from the enraged alien girl who had recovered and was now hovering above her friends.

"Do not _ever_ use that word in reference to me!" she said, landing beside Robin. "Evil" had been one of the first English words she had learned when she came to Earth. She knew that it was used pertaining to villains and criminals and bad people. And as a Teen Titan, she soon came to learn the darker meaning of the word that was unexplainable by definition. Only by experience can one fully understand what "evil" is, and Starfire knew that it would never, _ever_ define her.

When the green fog that her powerful star bolt had left behind cleared, Slade was still standing, unharmed. He let out his signature evil laugh that chilled each Titan to the bone and his hands began to flame. Robin was the first to step in front of Starfire protectively, and the others followed suit.

"How sweet," Slade said in an almost pitying voice. "But I hope you don't think that will help." He took a step forward, and everyone readied themselves for a fight.

"She'll never be your apprentice," Robin spat. Slade merely looked amused.

"Jealous, are we?" he said, targeting Robin's insecurity. "Wondering why I want her instead of you now? Don't look down on yourself, Robin, you are a very powerful individual, which is an important quality. However, I have come to realize that you are not apprentice material, because you are too headstrong to break in. I don't believe I'll have that problem with that beautiful redhead you're attempting to protect from me."

"Back off, Slade," Cyborg growled. "Nobody messes with our girl."

"Is that so? Well. I suppose we will have to see if you are able to stop me." Slade started running at them, full speed.

"Starfire, run!" Robin yelled as he whipped out his Bo staff. But Starfire would not run. She was not going to abandon her friends, no matter what danger she was in. They meant more to her than her own personal well-being.

"Hit him with all you got!" Cyborg shouted as he aimed his laser cannon at Slade. He fired, and missed. His jaw dropped open. He never missed. Slade came at him, almost completely on fire, and his punches burned the metallic teen until he couldn't stand to block them anymore. Cyborg was quickly knocked aside, and one last fire blast zapped him of all his battery power. He fell to the ground, motionless.

Next was Raven. She knew the key was not to let the volcano-powered villain touch you, but the flames that he shot forward burned through the force field she help up as protection and all other attempts to hold him off were in vain.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" she cried, and a black force came hurtling at him. Slade could tell that the half-demon girl had put all of her power into this last shot, so instead of burning through it, he caught it in his hands and threw it back at her. She slammed into the wall and slid down it, unconscious.

Robin, unable to take anymore, yelled, "Protect her at whatever cost!" at Beast Boy and hurtled himself at Slade. This was his mistake: Slade caught him in the air by the ankle, twisted it, and threw him down. Robin knew that he was badly hurt, but that didn't stop him. With Starfire at stake, it seemed that nothing would.

But Slade overcame the wounded Boy Wonder without too much effort; Robin's high emotional state and injury made him reckless and an easy target. As Slade delivered one last blow, Robin heard something crack. He hurt all over so it was impossible to tell where. And this time when he hit the floor, he stayed there.

"Robin!" Starfire cried, but she was drowned out by Slade's evil cackle.

It was all up to Beast Boy. He considered himself the weakest of the group, and didn't have much faith in his ability to keep Starfire safe. He wished that someone would get up–Robin, Cyborg, Raven, s_omeone_–but they were all out of the game. He was the only thing standing between Slade and Starfire.

And he was going to make sure it stayed that way.

Starfire stepped up beside him, her hands and eyes glowing green.

"Let us vanquish our enemy together," she said, her voice unusually angry. She was prepared to fight, and normally, Beast Boy would have welcomed the help. Anything so as he wouldn't have to face danger alone. But not this time. He grabbed Starfire's wrist to stop her.

"No," he said, firmly. "Stay back. I'll take care of Slade." She stared at him, shocked. She was about to protest when she noticed the uncommon seriousness in his eyes. It wasn't everyday that Beast Boy stepped up to the plate and took responsibility for himself, let alone others. Starfire looked at him with compassion now instead of fire, recognizing the great step he was taking. Even though she didn't want him hurt, she realized that she had to let him go. He needed to do this. She felt tears welling up in her eyes. All her friends, hurt because they were trying to save her. And now Beast Boy. Goofy, immature, always joking, never serious Beast Boy, was growing up for a moment, expressing a bravery that most heroes lacked, sacrificing himself even though he knew what the cost would be.

"Beast Boy . . ."

"I won't let him hurt you," he said in a determined voice. "But . . . Star . . . if the worst happens . . . run. Don't worry about us. Don't pause for a second. Just run." The tears welling up in her crystal green eyes began to spill over as a slow, sarcastic clapping filled the room.

"Truly touching," Slade said, continuing his ridiculing applause. "Really, I was nearly brought to tears . . ."

"This ends now," Beast Boy interrupted, making fists.

"Yes, it does," Slade responded. "But really, I admire your courage. Do you have any idea how easy it will be to sweep your tiny little body aside? You are hardly a blockade between myself and my destination."

"How's this for tiny?" Beast Boy asked, before morphing into a giant rhinoceros. He charged at Slade, his horn towards him, but Slade easily dodged him. Beast Boy skidded to a stop and turned around, charging at him again. Except this time, he changed into a brontosaurus and attempted to stomp on Slade. However, Slade set fire to his feet and Beast Boy instead ended up falling to the ground, shaking the foundation of the warehouse and causing some beams to give way, luckily missing the fallen Titans. Beast Boy changed back into himself and tried to stand, but the soles of his feet were too badly burned.

Starfire ran to her fallen friend as Slade headed toward her. She aimed a star bolt at the approaching villain, but she was shaking too badly and missed. In a last ditch effort, Beast Boy once again morphed into a brontosaurus, to create an obstacle between Slade and Starfire so she would have enough time to get away. However, the compassionate girl was unable to leave her friends all lying there. As Beast Boy slipped out of consciousness, morphing back into his human form, Starfire stood, ready to battle.

"Are you really going to fight me, girl?" Slade asked. The green glow of her eyes was all he needed for an answer.

Before she could react, he let loose a great beam of fire, which hit her square in the chest and sent her flying backwards. Her scream aroused Robin, who had been slipping in and out of consciousness. He looked up and through his blurry vision saw Slade blast Star again, and she began to fall. Slade grabbed her first, and lifted her horizontally into his arms. He looked around at his conquered battlefield and nodded, satisfied. He then began to walk off with his prize, her head unsupported on one side, her legs dangling lifelessly on the other.

"Star . . . no . . ." Robin grunted as he pushed himself up, working through the searing pain that went shooting through his body. He found that it was his arm that had cracked, as it hung useless at his side, and his ankle had swollen. He ignored it and began to run, as fast as he could considering his injuries, after Slade. He finally caught up with Slade at the door, where the villain turned around abruptly to face him.

"Take a good look at her, Robin," he said. "This is the last time you will see her like this." With that, he delivered a swift kick to Robin's knees, causing the Boy Wonder to fall to the ground one last time. As Robin began to slip out of consciousness, the last thing he saw through watery eyes was his evil arch nemesis turn and walk away with the innocent girl he loved lying lifeless in his arms.

* * *

Ouch. This chapter was painful to write. I hope the battle descriptions didn't suck, because the fighting is pretty hard to depict. Anyway, for any who are like, what was with that BB thing, I needed someone else to make the last stand for her because in reality Robin would have already attacked Slade and been hurt, and I wanted him to see Star being taken away and go after her even though he was close to unconscious because he loved her just that much. I chose Beast Boy because I think his friendship with her is so cute and plus I thought it would be nice to have him grow up for a second. There's a lot more to Beast Boy than his incredibly humorless jokes . . . at least, I like to think so.

So this is the end of Part One: Innocence. What's next? Guess you're just have to wait and find out! Keep the reviews coming and you might find out a little faster . . . Hint, hint.

Prophecy tonight! Which means Stranded next week! Can you say **HELL YES!**

Also, yes, I did see Star Wars 3. OMG! I was just so amazing. My friend Madison was completely flipping out because it's the first Star Wars movie she's seen, and it kind of sucks to have your first Star Wars memory to be of just THE hottest guy first becoming evil, then burning and being put into a black Nazi helmet. It just kind of kills it for you. She hates us now for taking her, but it was just so good. It really was. Normally Star Wars movies confused me and I never understood what was going on and who was on which side, but this was just perfect. It had everything. Action I could understand and enjoy, random funny moments (my favorite was in the beginning when the robots kicked R2D2 and knocked him over), angst that you don't get sick of, romance, and **an incredibly hot guy**. Hayden Christensen. Mmm.

Anyways. Yeah. Go see it, even if you're not into Star Wars. It's totally worth it.

Now to my reviewers.

Riles: It's always RobStar. Everyone knows that. RaeRob fans will just have to deal with that fact. There won't be a love triangle. It's too complicated. Psh. Forget it. I thought Hayden was pretty okay in SW2, but in 3 . . . oh man. I want some of that.

dragonofraven: Aww, you haven't seen the rest? Aww I'm sorry! Hopefully you'll see it soon! And no, I doubt I'm going to have a Raven romance in here because it's better for me to focus on just one pairing, and that's RobStar. Sorry, I used to include BBRae in my fics, but I found it hard to develop two relationships when I'd really rather focus on just one.

xox.Annie Potter.xox: I'm SO psyched about Stranded. In America it's scheduled for June 11 at 8 PM. I'm glad that my including each character is good, because I always feel bad whenever I leave one of them out. lol

CidGregor: Sadly, I doubt that I'll write other pairings, just because I find it hard to focus on more than one relationship in a single fic because it's hard to develop both completely and satisfactorily. And RobStar will always be my favorite couple, so I just can't see myself basing a fic on another. Sorry.

JulesFire: lol It really makes my day to hear you talk about picturing that moment because I could do the same thing when I wrote it and it just made me laugh. I know, that servers overloaded thing was so annoying, but I'm glad you're caught up. I missed your reviews!

Princess Starfire of Tamaran: GAH. Thank you for pointing that out, I feel so stupid. I knew that green boots didn't sound right, but I just kept picturing him in these ugly green rubber rain boots and just couldn't think of what they really were. I'll change it. Thanks. Hope you haven't jumped out of a window yet. lol

Okay and that's all. I have to go practice softball for what will probably be our last game on Monday because we've moved on to state championships and the team we're up against is sooo much better than us . . . oh boy. Well, at least with the season over I'll have more time to update and write. So be happy!

Remember to review!

Blair


	5. Part Two: Captured

_Evil: The Other Side_

by Blair Lebeau, SocialButterfli

Summary:

Starfire has always been sweet and innocent. But when Slade realizes her power, he brainwashes her to become his next apprentice and the Titans can only watch as she embraces the other side. Is it possible that Starfire has become truly evil? RobStar

Disclaimer:

You'd think that if I owned Teen Titans, I would have told you by now. But I don't. Still. Damn. I also don't own Wal-Mart, and don't know if they have a Starfire costume.

Quote:

"I'm Kent!" –Kent

* * *

_Part Two: Captured_

Chapter Five

Kent Riley stopped singing along to the radio as he pulled into the parking lot of the mechanics warehouse he owned and noticed that there was a strange, modern car illegally parked in two spaces. He was surprised to see a car there, because it was a Sunday, and the warehouse was closed. He himself was just stopping by because his wife's birthday was the next day, and to keep her from finding her present, he had hidden it in his office. Looking at his watch, he saw that it was ten in the morning. The warehouse had a security officer stationed until eight to prevent vandalism, so the car could only have been there two hours at the latest. Kent hoped that it wasn't a confused costumer who didn't see the "closed on Sundays" sign. He hated to keep people waiting.

Kent jogged up to the front door, keys jingling in his hand. He didn't see anyone wandering around the lot, so he wasn't quite sure what to think. As he neared the door, he noticed that it was slightly ajar, the lock broken.

"Damn teenagers!" Kent cursed under his breath. "Do I need to get freaking security cameras or something?" He yanked open the door, preparing himself to see the damage. He had seen pretty crude things in his day, and every time this happened the graffiti seemed to get worse.

But there was no way he could have prepared himself for what the damage really was.

Right in front of the door, an unconscious teenager was sprawled out, one green gloved hand reaching outward.

"Holy shit!" Kent gasped, immediately kneeling down next to the boy. "Son, are you alright? Son?" As he shook his shoulder, the boy twitched and groaned. It was now that Kent recognized who he was: Robin, of the Teen Titans. Who else would wear such odd clothes?

"S-st-Starfire?" Robin moaned, trying to lift his head to look up.

"The Teen Titans!" Kent exclaimed. "Wow, it's the Teen Titans! Here! In my warehouse! Hurt! Hey, you're hurt! Are you okay?" He put the bruised teen super hero's arm around his neck so he could help him up. "What happened here?"

"Slade," Robin grunted. "Wh-where's my team?"

"The rest of you are here?" Kent asked, incredulously. "Really! This is the best day of my life! The Teen Titans! Where?" With great effort, Robin pointed to the main room.

"Last I s-saw, there," Robin replied. Supporting the Boy Wonder's weight, he helped him walk. They both stopped when they came into the view of the damage Slade had done.

The Titans were scattered at different ends of the room, unmoving except for Raven who was stirring just slightly, as if she were having a bad dream.

"Holy shit!" Kent cursed again. "The Teen Titans! Hurt! In my warehouse! What happened here?" Robin shook his head.

"Don't ask," he said, his voice hoarse. "Just help."

"S-sure, kid, anything you say," Kent replied, nervously. "Maybe I should call an ambulance. I've got my cell phone right here . . ."

"No!" Robin cried, immediately regretting the outburst because his throat was sore. He coughed, then continued, quieter and slower. "We don't need an ambulance. We just need to get home."

"But . . ."

"Please. If we can wake Raven, she has healing powers. We don't need to get anyone else involved in this."

"Ah, bad publicity, huh?" Kent said, laughing inappropriately. "I get it. The papers would have a field day if they found out the Titans took a beating. How much you wanna pay me to keep quiet?" A steely glare from Robin caused the babbling middle-aged man to laugh nervously. "Just kidding, kid, seriously. I would never let that happen to you guys. I love you guys! So does my little girl, Katey, she really looks up to you guys. Last Halloween, she colored her hair red with magic marker and went out and bought a costume at Wal-Mart, the purple skirt, shirt, and boots so she could be just like Starfire, her favorite. To tell the truth, it gave me a heart attack to see her in that purple get-up, it's very . . . showy, and my little Katey is only nine. That Starfire's a looker, that's for sure."

At the mention of her name, Robin felt his heart drop. Starfire. He looked around, hoping beyond hope that she would be there . . . but of course she wasn't. Slade had her. Robin tightened his fists. Slade.

" . . . So are you?" Robin looked at the man supporting him in surprise. He had tuned him out with heart-wrenching thoughts of Starfire and hatred and rage towards Slade.

"What?"

"I said, I've always wondered if you two had something between you. You know, it seems like you might be going out, maybe. So are you?" Robin closed his eyes. Kent's intrusive question snapped reality in half for him. No, they weren't going out, but he was going to ask her out as soon as he got home, because he had this awful dream that Slade came back and defeated them badly and took Starfire away. But of course that didn't actually happen. Because Starfire couldn't be gone. It didn't make sense. Starfire was always by his side. Why would she ever leave it?

But when Robin opened his eyes, he knew that it had happened. She was gone. And there was nothing he could do about it.

"Robin?" Raven croaked. She had awoken, and was trying desperately to lift herself up. With the help of Kent, Robin limped over to her and helped her sit up.

"I'm Kent," Kent introduced himself almost cheerfully. He was so excited to be meeting the Teen Titans, even though the conditions were horrible. Raven merely nodded at him.

"Are you okay?" Robin asked, concerned.

"Mm hmm. I just need to meditate for a moment and heal myself. Then I can work on you, and the others. Are they okay?" Robin shrugged.

"It's . . . it's hard to tell. Can your powers bring people out of a coma?" Raven shook her head.

"Maybe, but it's too risky. I could hurt . . ." A sharp intake of breath followed a pause. "I need to rest. Meditate. It will only take a moment. See to the others." Robin nodded, but before he and Kent could turn away, Raven stopped him with a single-word question. "Starfire?" After a brief pause, Robin simply shook his head and continued on his way.

"What happened to Starfire?" Kent asked as they made their way towards Beast Boy. Every time someone referred to her, Robin felt as if they were grabbing his heart and squeezing it until it burst. Didn't they notice that she wasn't there? Couldn't they just leave it at that?

"She's . . . she's not here right now," Robin said, choking on the words. He didn't offer any other explanation, and Kent finally took the hint and didn't ask further.

When they reached Beast Boy, Robin carefully knelt down next to his friend. Though he had been lying useless on the floor while Beast Boy and Starfire were left to battle Slade alone, Robin hadn't been completely unconscious, and knew what Beast Boy had done for Star. And he was eternally grateful for it.

"Beast Boy," he whispered, shaking the green changeling gently. Beast Boy seemed to tremble for a moment, but then went still. Robin tried again, a little harder this time. Beast Boy sat up abruptly and gasped, as if breathing for the first time in forever.

"Starfire, run!" he called out, unaware of his surroundings. He noticed Robin, and gave a little start. "Robin? What happened?" Did everyone have to ask this question?

"It's okay, Beast Boy," Robin answered, quietly. "You did everything you could, and that means the world to me. And I know it did to Starfire, too." Beast Boy's eyes widened.

"Then . . ." Robin nodded. Beast Boy closed his eyes for a moment, quivering slightly. He had already had to deal with the earth-shattering (literally) loss of Terra. He couldn't stand to lose anyone else. Terra had meant so much to him, the wound was still generally new. And now Starfire.

"I'm Kent!"

"Not now, Kent, please," Robin requested, his voice hard as Kent stuck his hand out to shake hands with the wounded changeling. He withdrew his hand slowly.

"Right. Sorry. Wrong time. But, hey, still great to meet you." Robin ignored him.

"Raven's recuperating. When she's ready, she'll heal you." They moved on to Cyborg, even though Robin knew that the only thing they could do for him was to get him home. His power had been zapped, and only recharging him could wake him up. And since no one except Cyborg knew how to drive the T-Car, Kent would have to drive them home. Robin groaned at this realization. Just what he needed. More time with Kent.

"Robin," Raven called out. "I'm ready." She levitated over to him, knelt down, and placed her hands tentatively around his ankle. As it began to grow, the pain lessened, and Robin felt himself able to place more and more weight on it. Finally, he could stand on his own, and he couldn't get away from Kent fast enough.

Kent and Robin carried Cyborg's stiff body out to Kent's car as Raven healed Beast Boy's feet. When they returned, Beast Boy brought up the problem of the T-Car.

"Cyborg's got that psycho lock on it that only he can work, and only he knows how to drive it, so what? Are we just going to leave it here?"

"Who cares about his stupid car?" Robin said, bitterly. "I just want Cyborg to be okay so he can track down Starfire."

"Hey," Beast Boy said, holding up his hands. "Calm down, Robin. We all want Starfire back, but we have to take care of ourselves first." Robin ran a hair through his stiff hair and sighed.

"I know. I'm sorry. It's just . . . _Slade_ has her." Beast Boy put a hand on Robin's shoulder.

"I know, dude. I know." Beast Boy gave a weak smile, and Robin tried to return the effort, but he didn't have it in him. Meanwhile, Raven was watching Kent with disdain as he told his wife why he was going to be late coming home.

"The Teen Titans, Val! The _Teen Titans_ are here, in my very own warehouse! Why? Oh, uh, well, uh, they had a battle, and, uh, well I'm not supposed to tell anybody this, because, you know, it would be bad publicity for them and I wouldn't want to do that to them, you know, because the Teen Titans and I are tight now, really, great buds, but, uh, they had a _battle_ here, in my very own warehouse! And they kinda lost, so they're kinda hurt, which is the part I'm not supposed to tell, so you _can't tell anyone_, because it's confidential, you know? So I gotta help them out, because we're such good pals now and, you know, they do so much for us, a guy can only help them out, you know, and of course I'm going to try to get an autograph for Katey out of the deal, and the _Teen Titans_, Val! Can you believe it?"

"You," Raven said, raising her voice only slightly to get his attention. Kent looked up, surprised and excited.

"Me? You want me? I gotta go, Val, the Teen Titans need me! Uh huh, love you too, tell Katey! The _Teen Titans_, Val! Okay, bye!" As Kent hurried over, practically skipping, Raven turned to her tired friends.

"Let's go home."

* * *

Okay, I know that except for a few moments Robin has been taking Starfire's kidnapping incredibly well, but that's because 1.) he's still dealing with the shock and 2.) he has to take care of his team first before he can worry about Starfire. Don't worry, in the future, you'll see some massive break downs for our Boy Wonder. 

Also, everyoneshould go read **Princess Starfire of Tamaran**'s completed fic, **Life's Canvas**. It was just SOOO good, you have no idea. I normally don't read AU fics, but this was just...uh. Unbelievable. Everyone go read it now. NOW!

Prophecywas pretty cool. What did you guys think? The action was good and I liked how we gota glimpse of Raven's world and her mother. My favorite line was Slade's, where he said to Raven, "you may not be afraid of me, but look who's afraid of you" and it showed the Titans' shocked faces. That was just...awesome. Anyways. **Stranded** this Saturday! I don't think I've ever been more excited in my life...yay!

Sadly I don't have time to comment on my reviewers today, so I'll say a general **thanks**to everyone and **sorry** to those who thought Slade beat the Titans too easily. It's true, I tend to hurry the battle scenes up because I feel like there are more important things to get to. I'll try to fix that, but I already have a lot of the future chapters already written up and I don't feel like going back and changing them...but I'll do my best.

Review! You guys are amazing!

Blair


	6. Part Two: Captured

_Evil: The Other Side_

by Blair Lebeau, SocialButterfli

Summary:

Starfire has always been sweet and innocent. But when Slade realizes her power, he brainwashes her to become his next apprentice and the Titans can only watch as she embraces the other side. Is it possible that Starfire has become truly evil? RobStar

Disclaimer:

You'd think that if I owned Teen Titans, I would have told you by now. But I don't. Still. Damn.

Quote:

"And what if we don't get Star back? What then?" –Robin

* * *

_Part Two: Captured_

Chapter Six

The rain was falling softly, like a mist, as Starfire twirled around like a ballerina, jumping gracefully from puddle to puddle. She felt two strong hands grip her waist and lift her into the air, then bring her back down. She turned around to face the owner. A smile graced her face when she saw that it was Robin, but then again, she had known that from just his touch. They danced a while longer, fast and slow, fancy and simple, but never letting each other go. And then, abruptly, the rain stopped, and so did Robin. Slowly, ever so slowly, he backed away, a sad smile on his face, releasing her hand until just their fingertips were touching. Then, the rain began to fall again, faster and harder, until it became so dark that it obscured Robin from her vision. She called out to him, but he was gone. And she was alone.

"Robin," she called out. "Robin, where have you gone? Please, do not leave me!" There was no reply except for a low, sinister chuckle. And with that, Starfire's eyes fluttered open to meet the one who seemed to think her anguished dream was so amusing.

Slade.

"Did you have a nice sleep?" he asked, smiling in a creepily pleasant way. "I was beginning to think you would never wake up." Starfire glared, and made the effort to sit up–only to find that she couldn't. She was lying on a metal bed, held down by straps that not even her strength could break.

"Why have you bound me with these belts?" she asked, grunting. "Release me!" Slade wagged a finger in her face, as if scolding a child.

"Ah-ah-ah, it won't do you any good to try to escape. I've made sure that the straps are secure enough that even your strength cannot do anything." Starfire's eyes began to glow. "That won't help either. Go ahead, try it. But in case you haven't noticed, there are two wires attached to your shoulders that are slowly zapping you of your star bolt energy to ensure that you won't attack me. Believe me, my dear, with all the time I've had, lying in wait while you continued to believe that I was gone for good, this procedure is foolproof."

"Procedure?" Starfire gasped. It was now that she took in her surroundings. They were in a dark room, filled with tall metal shelves holding glass bottles with strange-looking liquids inside them. Electricity crackled through a futuristic machine. There was another metal bed across the room that seemed to have another unmoving body on it. This made Starfire think of the movie _Frankenstein_ that Beast Boy had made them watch. Was Slade creating some sort of monster to terrorize Jump City? The last monsters he had, when Terra was his apprentice, he had combined them and now they were in a high-security cage, guaranteed to never escape. He would need new minions.

"Yes. Procedure. After all, my dear, how do you expect to enjoy all that I offer you if you refuse to take advantage of it? I must make sure that you will be a willing and obedient apprentice and fulfill your full potential. There is only one way I can secure that." He gestured to the table next to her metal bed, where some sort of metal helmet lay that had wires connected to it. Starfire began to panic, as it looked like the helmet was meant for her. She struggled harder, but it was no use.

"Please . . . no . . ." The words he had spoken earlier about her, before the battle, were ringing in her head. _Just imagine if she were evil._ What if she were? She couldn't be, could she? There was no way someone like her could be truly evil, was there?

"Now, I trust you will hold still and not struggle so this will go as smoothly as possible, correct?" Without waiting for an answer–because exactly what kind of answer could he expect from that?–he lifted the metal helmet and fitted it over the girl's crimson red hair. As he did this, Starfire focused on rubbing her shoulders against the metal bed. There was a sticky substance that attached the wires to her; if she managed to wear the residue away, she could regain her energy and blast the evil villain. And then she would be free to go home, to her friends, to Robin.

Starfire stopped fidgeting for a moment as a wave of worry struck her. Why the Titans hadn't come to rescue her yet? She was wearing a tracking device, after all. All the Titans had one. So shouldn't they have tracked her down by now? Unless . . . unless they didn't want her back. But no, that couldn't be it, could it?

She was then struck by another thought: the last time she had seen them, they were all badly hurt and unconscious. What if they were so badly wounded, they hadn't woken up? What if no one found them, and they just laid there until . . . Starfire began to work her shoulders again. She had to get free, she had to help her friends.

"And now, all I have to do is flip the switch," Slade said after he finished connecting random wires and making sure that the metal helmet was secure on the struggling girl's head. He paid no notice to her rapid movements nor the fact that the wire on her left shoulder had already fallen off. He was so sure that his plan was foolproof that he wasn't worried about anything.

Starfire knew that the last wire was only holding on by a thread because energy was flooding back to her body. She could feel her eyes started to get heated, and knew she didn't have much time as Slade headed towards the switch that would supposedly make her a willing apprentice. Not if she had anything to say about it.

As the last wire fell from her shoulder, Starfire took careful and steady aim at Slade's retreating back. She couldn't afford to miss.

Her eyes glowed, and as his hand stretched out towards the switch, she fired.

* * *

"Thanks so much," Kent gushed, clutching the piece of paper with four autographs on it to his heart. "This just . . . it will mean so much to my daughter."

"Yeah, well, it's the least we could do for you helping us out," Beast Boy said, scratching his head. He was the one who lost at rock, paper, scissors (because Raven knew that he always chose rock as well) and so he had to be the one to make Kent leave. Beast Boy had always gone on and on about having obsessed number one fans, but actually meeting one was freaking him out a little. It had been a hard (understatement of the year) day and he just wanted to rest. That, and get Starfire back. Cyborg was recharging as they spoke.

"Oh, _anything_ for you guys, seriously, you're the best, you save our lives all the time, really, it was the least _I_ could do."

"O-_kay_," Beast Boy said after a long, awkward silence during which Kent just stared at them with his wide, excited eyes. "Well, thanks . . . and stuff. I guess we'll see you around."

"You _will_!" Kent practically screeched. "Alright! That's awesome! Yes! I will see you then! Right! Okay! Bye now!" Kent turned to go, and Beast Boy exhaled. But then he stopped and turned around. "Uh, I hate to ask, because I know it's a touchy subject, but whenever Starfire is available, you know, whenever she comes back or you get her back from wherever she went, do you think I could get her autograph too? And maybe a picture? And bring my daughter to meet her? Because my daughter, Katey, absolutely _adores _Starfire, she's her favorite . . . no offense to you, of course, I mean, she loves you too, thinks you're really funny and all, but Starfire's a girl, and Katey's a girl, and of course that just helps her relate, you know, so that's why she's her favorite. I mean, last year for Halloween, she got this costume . . ."

"O-_kay_," Beast Boy tried again. "Thanks, when we get . . . er, when she gets back, we'll let you know. Okay. Bye now." The next thing Beast Boy knew, the life was being squeezed out of him by the persistent pyschopath.

"Thank you!" Kent all but squealed as he released Beast Boy from the hug. "I will see all of you later! For sure!"

"Uh huh. Sure you will. Bye bye." Finally, he left, and Beast Boy turned to go back to the tower, filled with relief. He had begun to think Kent would never leave.

* * *

Robin knocked on Cyborg's door, and it slid open, welcoming him in. The robotic teen was sitting down, his right hand in the form of a buffer, fixing a scratch on his left arm. He looked up as the Boy Wonder walked in.

"Hey, man."

"Hey. How are you doing?" Robin asked, gesturing to what Cyborg was doing. He shrugged.

"Fine. I'm mostly repaired. How about you?" Robin knew Cyborg didn't mean his physical well-being.

"Better, now that you're awake. I'm glad you're okay. Do you think you could, uh, track Starfire now? The sooner we can get to her, the better it will probably be . . ."

"Rob." There was something in Cyborg's tone of voice that Robin didn't like. "Look, I need you to not freak out on me. But there's nothing we can do right now. In battle, Slade broke my tracker device. I'm fixing it, but it could take anywhere from an hour to an entire day. We might have to wait until tomorrow."

"_Tomorrow_?" Robin shouted, incredulously. "It might be too late by then! God knows what Slade is doing to her now, but by tomorrow, she may be . . . she might . . . it might be too late!" Cyborg held up his hands.

"I know, man, I know, but there's nothing I can do."

"Why are you the only one with the tracking device! What if we need to track you, huh? What good will that do us? We all should have the tracking device, maybe on the computer or something . . ."

"Robin. Calm down. I know how you feel, and that's a good suggestion, I'll work on that once we get Star back . . ."

"And what if we don't get Star back? What then? What if you never fix your tracking thing, and she's gone forever?"

"Hey, hey, don't blame me; like I said, there's nothing I can do to fix it any faster. Besides, Slade's not dumb. He might have found Star's tracker and disabled it."

"Well what then! What the hell do you expect us to do then? How are we going to find her? How are we going to save her?"

"Look, man, just because you have a special thing with Star that the rest of us don't, doesn't mean that we don't care about her too. All of us are doing everything we can." Robin was too upset to even protest Cyborg's mentioning of the 'special thing' they had. He slumped down in an empty chair, defeated. Cyborg stood and walked over to him, putting a hand on his shoulder. "We'll find her. I promise."

"But what if it's too late?"

* * *

Okay so everyone's been asking or commenting on Kent, so here's the deal on the Teen Titans' seemingly number one fan. He _might_ be coming back at the end of the fic, maybe, if I don't forget about him and if I have a place for him. Basically, I created him for a couple reasons. One, I wanted to slightly lighten the blow of Starfire's absence until the Titans recuperate and can really focus on that. Another thing is that I didn't think it was all that realistic for the Titans to all of a sudden wake up and have the energy to get themselves together and go back home without any help. Also, with Cyborg's battery power gone, I needed a way for the Titans to actually g_et _home. This was also my transition to the darker side of the story, and I didn't want it to happen so abruptly. So Kent, the psychotically obsessive owner of the warehouse, was born. According to you guys, he was a helpful addition, so I'm glad he worked out.

Next, **Stranded** is tonight! Could I be any more excited? Unfortunately, I've got a party to go to and I won't be back until midnight, so I won't be able to watch it tonight. However, I'm SO taping it, which is better anyway, so I can watch it over and over and over and over and _over_ again. Tehe. MAKE SURE YOU WATCH IT!

Also, my amazing softball season has ended, this is my last pre-summer weekend, my exams are Monday and Tuesday and then I'm done and **summer is here**! All of this means that aside from vacations and whatever else is going down during this crazy summer, I hopefully be updating much more frequently. And I've already got my next fic idea in mind, which means that this summer none of you will have to have SocialButterfli-withdrawal. ;)

However, if I don't update in a very long time, you all can yell at and blame Riles. Don't ask why. Just do so.

Reviewers!

Riles: Exactly what I was going for. Kent's the epitome of annoying people who freak over seeing celebrities. He was fun to play with. I'm glad you didn't think that the battle scene was too rushed. I always worry about that. Have I told you that I **love** your "Ten Little Titans" fic? It's just so intense. I NEED AN UPDATE! What happens next? Who's the murderer? Gah, I need to know! I'm going to harass you online now. I HATE YOU!

inuxkagforever: My stories are addicting? Seriously! Ah, that's so sweet! Thank you!

xBxMyxJamesxDeanxcandyclouds: Perfect? Hah, yeah right, but thanks for saying it! And heart wrenching? Ah, sweetheart . . . it hasn't even s_tarted_. Suspense.

Mirage992: Thanks for saying it worked, because that's _exactly_ what I was going for, as I stated above. Thanks!

CidGregor: "Dang, sucks to be Robin." Babe . . . you have no idea. ;) Hope your exams went well!

JulesFire: I was wondering where you were! I was mucho sado. (Yeah...my Spanish needs work.) Well, I guess if I update **too fast**, I could slow down . . . does next month sound good? No, but seriously, that whole Robin being upset about a psychopathic criminal **not** being after him, it's so true, and so pathetic. lol

Princess Starfire of Tamaran: I agree, I definitely don't think Arella was well done _at all_. I was very disappointed. And please, you definitely deserved the bold. You know you did. Thanks for all your compliments!

MayDay Parker: Aww I'm glad you love Beast Boy now, I was really hoping I would make my readers just absolutely adore him after that.

Okay, I need to focus all my energy on harassing Riles. You all should do the same. Don't ask why. Just do it. For me.

Review, too! Don't forget to do that!

Blair


	7. Part Two: Captured

_Evil: The Other Side_

by Blair Lebeau, SocialButterfli

Summary:

Starfire has always been sweet and innocent. But when Slade realizes her power, he brainwashes her to become his next apprentice and the Titans can only watch as she embraces the other side. Is it possible that Starfire has become truly evil? RobStar

Disclaimer:

You'd think that if I owned Teen Titans, I would have told you by now. But I don't. Still. Damn.

Quote:

"So we'll rescue Starfire _and _take Slade down. Way down! So down that he'll start speaking _Australian_." –Beast Boy

* * *

_Part Two: Captured_

Chapter Seven

Nineteen hours. It was the longest the video game system had gone untouched. The last time someone had played it was when Robin and Starfire had been left at the park in the rain and Beast Boy and Cyborg needed something to do to pass the time until the pair got home. But what with the battle and the abduction of Starfire, no one was in the mood to play. Since Cyborg had fully recuperated, he had stayed in his room, working on repairing the tracking device. Robin had been pacing for a full three hours, the amount of time since he had conversed with the humanoid. Beast Boy and Raven also stayed in their rooms, knowing better than to get in Robin's way.

Robin's obsessive pacing suddenly stopped when he heard the sound of a door sliding open and heavy footsteps racing to the living room, where he was. Seconds later, Cyborg appeared.

"It's fixed," he announced, breathlessly.

"It's fixed?" Robin said, trying his hardest not to get his hopes up. There was still the possibility that Slade had disabled Starfire's tracking device. "I thought you said it would take until tomorrow."

"It could have," Cyborg admitted. "But this was important, so I had to take a chance and use this new tool I had to fix it. I didn't know if it would work–there was the possibility it would damage the device beyond repair–but I had to do it. And it worked. I know where she is." Robin's heart soared. He knew where Starfire was. They could rescue her.

"There's no time to waste. I'll get Beast Boy and Raven, you get the T Car ready. Let's go."

* * *

"Do you realize what this means?" Beast Boy asked excitedly as Cyborg slammed down on the gas pedal, taking them well over the speed limit. "Not only do we know where Starfire is, but we know where _Slade_ is. We know his hideout! So we'll rescue Starfire _and _take Slade down. Way down! So down that he'll start speaking _Australian_." Up until now, the Titans had tuned him out, but this was too weird for them to ignore. 

"Say what?" Cyborg asked.

"Speak Australian. 'Cause, you know, Australia is the land down under? So he'll be so down, he'll be Australian. Get it? . . . Anybody? . . . No?" This reply was met by silence. There was nothing they could say to that–it was just that bad–so they went back to ignoring him. "Oh, come on, you guys have no sense of humor."

More silence. Until Beast Boy suddenly burst out laughing.

"Oh my God! Guys! Seriously! I just pictured Slade in one of those khaki safari hats or whatever holding up a gigantic snake and going, 'Crikey!' Slade! 'Crikey!' Big, floppy . . . Australian hat . . . Come on, guys! You gotta admit that's funny! Just picture it!" Finally, Raven couldn't take it anymore.

"No. Now please shut up." Beast Boy crossed his arms huffily.

"You're just jealous that you don't have my hilarious comedic skills." Suddenly, the ever-unamused Raven burst out laughing, followed by Cyborg and even Robin, who had lost his angsty, sullen mood as soon as Cyborg told him that he knew where Starfire was.

"Raven jealous of your comedic 'skills'. Now _that_ was funny," Cyborg said, grinning widely. Now it was Beast Boy's turn to ignore them. The T Car fell into silence.

Without the sarcastic banter of his friends to keep him preoccupied, Robin's thoughts turned back to Starfire. He was much more at ease now that he knew they were on their way to save her. But still, couldn't Cyborg go a _little_ faster? It wasn't like Starfire was completely out of danger yet. They had to get there first.

This thought made Robin's pulse speed up a little. He had been so caught up in his heroism fantasies, where he would rush into Slade's hideout just in time, kick Slade's ass, then lift Starfire into his arms and carry her off into the sunset (has anyone noticed how many times I use that scenario? I love it) that he forgot to consider the fact that maybe it wouldn't work out like that. There were so many possibilities, and Robin didn't want to consider any of them. But now, all of a sudden he couldn't ignore them.

Slade could have realized that he didn't disable Starfire's tracking device and moved them. Slade might have hurt her for resisting him. It could even be too late and Slade had already convinced Starfire to be his apprentice . . . but was that possible? How was he even planning to do that? He had talked about _breaking_ her . . . what did that mean? Starfire would never agree to be his apprentice. Would she?

"Cyborg, why the hell aren't we there yet?" he barked out. The Titans all looked at him, surprised by his outburst. He had seemed so calm before, but all of a sudden he was irritable.

"Man, do you see how fast I'm going?" Cyborg replied, increasing speed only by a little bit. "Any faster and we'd probably lift off the ground."

"Can't you do that in this thing?" Robin pressured, but Cyborg ignored him.

"You're being irrational, Robin," Raven said. "The only way we can save Starfire is to not be killed along the way."

"Where are we going, anyway?" Beast Boy asked. "We might need to know in case you accidentally press the ejector seat button and we have to take over." Cyborg raised an eyebrow at this highly unlikely scenario.

"Yeah. Like you could handle the T Car. Not happening." Cyborg turned back to concentrating on the road. Finally, he began to slow the T-Car down. Before Robin could protest, he explained.

"It's around here," he said, taking his eyes off the road for a second to check the tracking device on his arm. "But I'm not quite sure where." As if to answer him, a flood of green light illuminated the windows of a nearby storage building. No one had to say a word; they all knew that light had to have come from Starfire. Cyborg gunned the engine and quickly pulled into the parking lot. Robin was the first to jump out, followed by everyone else. He began to run forward, but Raven put up a black blockade to stop him. He whirled around, glaring. He was about to shout at her, but Raven held up a finger to her lips to silence him.

"We don't know what's going on in there," she whispered. "We shouldn't rush in, and we shouldn't announce ourselves. We should just keep quiet and creep up, check out the scenario, and then figure out what to do about it." Robin shook his head.

"Didn't you see the green light? She must in trouble!" he protested, but he lowered his voice.

"Or she could be training," Raven replied cooly. Cyborg and Beast Boy both held their breath to see Robin's reaction. Only Raven was brave enough to suggest that to Robin's face. Robin was about to contradict her, but seemed to think better of it.

"Fine. We'll do it your way. But if we see her fighting him, we're not going to hesitate to help her." Raven nodded.

"Fine." As the rest of the Titans crept up to the door of the storage building, Beast Boy turned into a sparrow and flew to the window so he could inform the others of what was going on. Relief flooded his body when he saw that Starfire was fighting against Slade, not with him. And even though he could tell she was a little battered, it looked like she was winning. But the sense of urgency did not escape him; he quickly flew over to the team and told them of the situation. Without wasting any time, Robin kicked the door down and the Teen Titans raced into the room.

"Starfire!" Robin cried out, and the in-flight girl stopped her attack to turn to look at him. She lit up.

"Robin!"she cried. "You have come!" As she turned to fly towards him, Slade shot a stream of fire at her. The second she hit the ground, Slade turned and ran, but the Titans didn't notice, as they were already heading towards the injured Starfire. They crowded around her, trying to help her stand. It was clear she had taken a beating, as her legs were shaking almost uncontrollably, but she smiled at them reassuringly.

"Star, are you okay? What happened?" Beast Boy asked. Robin was at a loss for words; he still couldn't believe that she was okay and alive and . . . well . . . not evil.

"Slade attempted to wash my brain," she replied. "Because I would not willingly be his apprentice. But I did not let him! I fought back and then you, my friends, came back to save me!" Starfire looked troubled for a moment. "But it appears that Slade has escaped." Robin whirled around, feeling his stomach drop to realize that Starfire's words were true. He took off, ran out the door, and came to a stop. Slade was nowhere in sight.

As he stalked back, the Titans waited for him to start screaming about how they should have stopped him. Instead, he took a deep breath and smiled.

"I'm just glad you're okay," he said, walking towards Starfire and tentatively putting his arm around her so she could lean on him. She was still wounded, and since he had come back, Slade could hit pretty hard, so he didn't want her to exert herself too much. "Let's go home."

"Oh, yes, please. I am eager to return to the large T that we call home," Starfire said, resting her head on Robin's shoulder. Robin was surprised by this, not that he minded, as were the rest of the Titans, but nobody said anything. Now was not the time. They could tease Robin later. For now, they were just glad to have her back.

* * *

And they lived happily ever after, right? Psh, what kind of writer do you think I am? Trust me, this story is _far_ from over. Don't you think Slade gave up a little too easily? After all, he isn't the kind of villain that just _runs away_. So where is he going? And why? What could the evil genius possibly be planning next?

I won't say anymore, so I guess you'll just have to wait and see. And unfortunately for you, you'll be waiting for a little while longer than usual, because to celebrate the end of sophomore year and the beginning of **summer** I'm going down to my beach house! Hell yeah! But I won't have an internet connection as my parents are too cheap to hook me up with wireless. Bah. However I will be taking my laptop down so I'll be getting some serious writing done while I work on my tan.

Also, it was pointed out to me by dragonofraven and Princess Starfire of Tamaran that how could Starfire see Slade smile if he's **wearing a mask**? Ah, dummy me, maskno mouth. So please ignore that mistake.

I'm hoping that by now all of you have seen **Stranded**. And if you haven't, are you crazy? I don't think I've ever smiled so much in my life. Every now and then I would randomly jump up and down and giggle and clap my hands like a five year old little girl. And because I taped it I've watched it about . . . nine times now. It never gets old.

Beast Boy and Cyborg were _hilarious_. "Pull the red candy cane thingamawhosit now!" And Raven? Priceless. It was a nice break from her darker side that's been coming out more and more because of the prophecy.

And finally, the RobStar fluff. Ohhhh man. As Jules said, a shipper's _dream_.

I loved how Robin and Starfire perfectly portrayed your typical awkward high school relationship. The girl is confused about where they stand, the boy is uncomfortable and doesn't want to talk about it, the boy needs his space and doesn't realize how hurtful that is to the girl (when Robin said that, I was like ohhh, Robin, no you _didn't_. But he so paid for it and it worked out quiiite nicely), the boy doesn't understand when the girl gets upset and holds a grudge, and the girl confronts the boy about his feelings and he freaks out. The way Robin awkwardly made it up to her was not exactly what I wanted to hear, but cute all the same. And his facial expressions were priceless.

Not to mention the fact that they hugged, and when Cyborg interrupted them, **Robin didn't let go**. Starfire waved, but Robin kept his arms around her waist which made for the cutest and most satisfying picture _ever_. I think I'm in love.

But what drove me absolutely _crazy_ was that when they were falling in the darkness and we couldn't see or hear them, Robin obviously said something that enabled Star to fly again (remember the power of flight comes from happiness!) and that's why she was like, "Gasp, Robin!" and then they hugged. **I need to know what he said!** It's driving me crazy.

Not to mention that after this massive fluff overdose, they're going to lay off on the RobStar. We probably won't see even the slightest hints of it for a loooong time. Waaah!

Okay I promise I'll shut up now. This author's note is turning out to be longer than the chapter. So now for a couple quick reviewers.

TheNextTitan: I'm just going to make her evil, she'll keep her name. Aww, I'm sorry you haven't seen the fourth season yet, because it is _amazing_, but at least you have something to look forward to!

funvince: Uh oh. Didn't think of that. You're right; in this fic Slade isn't working for Trigon, so he wouldn't be resurrected and have those cool new fire powers. But . . . um . . . can we just pretend that he does anyway? A writer's fatal flaw, I apologize. Thanks for catching me on that. But I won't tell if you won't!

JulesFire: You have no idea how reassuring it is to hear that you were impressed with Slade's dialogue. I constantly worry that he's OoC and not realistic, so I definitely love you for that. And the thing with Cyborg was once again me focusing on Starfire's impact on the other characters, because in my opinion, everyone has a special bond with her. How could they not? But of course Robin's special bond with her is . . . specialer.

CidGregor: Loved your super long update. Also read what you wrote on TGN in reply to that person who was talking about Starfire being dull . . . I was ready to kick their ass, but looks like you did it for me (and everyone else who was incredibly irritated, they all quoted you!) My hero.

Princess Starfire of Tamaran: Thanks for catching the smile thing. Could I be any more retarded? And yes, Starfire _is_ smart, and I wish more people would notice that. And you probably won't be hearing about my plans for my next fic until the end of this one. It's top secret. ;) lol Just kidding, it's definitely not that special.

Okay, that's it, except for one last note . . . you guys don't actually have to harass Riles, although I was pleased that some people offered. Tehe, I love you guys.

As always, what do I want you to do?

Duh. Review!

Blair


	8. Part Three: Evil

_Evil: The Other Side_

by Blair Lebeau, SocialButterfli

Summary:

Starfire has always been sweet and innocent. But when Slade realizes her power, he brainwashes her to become his next apprentice and the Titans can only watch as she embraces the other side. Is it possible that Starfire has become truly evil? RobStar

Disclaimer:

You'd think that if I owned Teen Titans, I would have told you by now. But I don't. Still. Damn.

Quote:

"It is done." –Slade

* * *

_Part Three: Evil_

Chapter Eight

Cyborg and Beast Boy were happily playing video games again, Raven was reading in her room, and Robin was in the training room, except he wasn't actually training. He was sitting on the weight-lifting bench, thinking about Slade and Starfire and what will happen next. And while he was thinking, unbeknownst to him, Starfire was watching him from the doorway.

"Is Starfire safe?" he pondered out loud. "If I know anything about Slade, he wouldn't give up and let her go. But as long as she's here with us, she should be safe, right?" Robin put his head in his hands and let out a frustrated noise. "What's Slade's next move?"

"Robin." At the sound of her sweet, melodic voice, Robin's head shot up, and he flushed as he realized Starfire had been standing there the whole time, listening to him.

"Ah, uh, Star, hey," he said, nervously. "I was just . . ." She flew over and sat next to him as he trailed off. The bench was narrow, and her bare thigh touched his, sending a chill through his body.

"Please, do not worry yourself over my safety. I can take care of myself, and I am sure you have more important things to focus on." Robin shook his head.

"No," he responded vehemently."Nothing's more important than you, Starfire." He immediately clammed up as he realized what he said. But Starfire smiled at him and took his hand. This action froze him; was he having a dream? God, he hoped not.

"You are so sweet to me," she said, clasping his hand firmly. "I do not deserve you." He stared at her. Say what?

"Starfire . . ." He was cut off by the alarm blaring. The red light lit up his worried features. Could it be? Was he back already? Starfire released his hand and stood up.

"We must go see what the trouble is!" she announced, and flew out the door, not waiting for him. Robin raised an eyebrow. She was acting strange.

When he reached the living room, the other Titans had already gathered there, and by their troubled expressions, his worst fear was confirmed: Slade.

"He's back at the mechanics warehouse," Cyborg informed him. "And I thought that place looked familiar, so this afternoon, I looked it up and discovered that it's the same place he broke into to build his robots back when Terra . . . yeah . . ." Cyborg cleared his throat, wishing he could take that back. Beast Boy looked sad for a moment, but he shook it off. He had to focus on what was going on now, which was Slade's apparent plans to build a more advance robot army. Great.

"As if he needs an army," Beast Boy said, miserably. Normally, he was the last person to admit that they could be defeated. But from what happened the last time they faced off with Slade, it didn't look like they stood a chance.

"Starfire stays here," Robin said, firmly. The other Titans were about to agree, but Starfire cut them off.

"No! I will not just stand by while my friends go into danger!"

"Star, _you're_ the one in danger," Robin replied, the harsh tone in his voice suggesting that he wasn't going to back down. But neither was Starfire.

"If you go, then I go."

"Star . . ."

"Let her go," Cyborg interrupted. "She can handle herself. And we'll be there to protect her."

"Like we did last time?" Robin shot back. It was a low blow, and even he knew it.

"We did everything we could," Raven said, stepping in.

"It wasn't enough."

"You know what, Robin?" Beast Boy began, angered. "With an attitude like that, it won't be. But we have to keep trying. What else do you expect us to do, just sit here while Slade builds his robot army so he can kick our ass even more? With Starfire's help, we have more of a chance to defeat him. We fought him separately last time. We should fight him _together_ this time." Robin couldn't argue with that, and it seemed that even if he tried, it would be in vain.

"I am going," Starfire said. "There is nothing you can do to stop me." Robin knew it was true, so he backed down.

"Fine. But you'll stay back, okay? I'm . . . we're not going to lose you again." Starfire agreed, and Robin sighed. He was uncomfortable with it, but knew he had no choice.

"Okay." He turned to the rest of the Titans. "Just make sure that whatever happens, Starfire stays safe."

* * *

"I _really_ hope Kent isn't here," Beast Boy commented as Cyborg pulled the T Car into the driveway of the once again closed mechanics warehouse.

"He's the least of our problems," Robin said, his face stony. He still wasn't sure how he felt about all this. He had always considered Slade his arch nemesis. Now Slade was after Starfire. And there was no guarantee that Starfire would be kept safe from him. It was pretty much the worst scenario ever.

The Titans took their time in approaching the warehouse. The memories of their last battle were flooding back to them. They weren't ready for a rematch. Robin reached the door first, and took a deep breath before he opened it.

"Titans, welcome," Slade said as they entered. He was standing on a platform above them, and it didn't seem like he was doing anything to prepare for building an advanced robot army. He was just standing there, as if he were waiting for them. And he was.

"I've been expecting you. And you brought Starfire with you. How nice of you to hand deliver her to me."

"Stay away from her," Robin growled.

"The question is, will she be able to stay away from me?" Slade replied cooly. "The possibilities are endless when you're on my side, and she knows it. The girl's got _fire_ in her. I was very impressed."

"Well unfortunately for you, the fire's on our side," Beast Boy retaliated. "So let's just beat you and get it over with."

"I would love to see you try," Slade said. "I will eliminate each and every one of you."

"No you will not!" Starfire cried, and before anyone could react, she flew towards Slade, ready to fire.

"Starfire, no!" Robin cried, but it was too late. She was beyond his reach. However, instead of grabbing her and abducting her once more, Slade fired at her, and for some unexplainable reason, Starfire didn't dodge it. It hit her hard, and she started to fall. Robin gasped. It was a long way to the ground. He started to run, arms outstretched to catch her. He slid on his knees to reach her, and she landed safely in his arms.

"Oh, Robin!" she cried, joyfully. "You saved me!"

"Eh, yeah, well . . ." Robin trailed off, embarrassed. Starfire replied to this with her most shocking action yet: **she kissed him.**

The Titans' mouths dropped open; Robin's would have too if it hadn't been occupied at the moment. He had fantasized and dreamed about this moment many, many times . . . but it was never like this. He had always thought that kissing Starfire would be soft and sweet. But this kiss was hard and hungry and not what he expected at all. He was surprised, because it was a damn good kiss, but something about it didn't seem quite right. It seemed . . . wrong.

"Robin!" Cyborg called out. The urgent tone in his voice chilled Robin to the bone. He had a sick feeling in his stomach as he pulled away from Starfire and saw the robot army surrounding them. There were millions of them, and there was no way out but to fight them, Starfire included.

Except Starfire wasn't going to fight.

"It is done," Slade announced. "You have led them into the trap. Well done, apprentice. Come, now we leave them to be destroyed."

No one quite believed their eyes as Starfire left Robin and flew to Slade's side and smirked. As Slade put his arm around Starfire in a fatherly manner, Robin felt dizzy and thought he might faint. No . . . it wasn't possible . . . this whole time she had been . . . Starfire . . . was this really happening?

"I thank you for your hospitality, Titans," Starfire said in a voice completely unlike her own. It was cold and hard and . . . evil. "But now it is time for this to come to an end." With that, she blew them a goodbye kiss and turned to go.

And so the Teen Titans were left with the sound of Starfire and Slade's combined evil laughter echoing in their ears, faced with the seemingly invincible robot army that none of them felt up to fighting.

* * *

Ouch. That's painful. I'm seriously killing myself for that one, but at the same time, I'm _loving_ it. I fought with myself a long time on whether or not to include the kiss, but at the end I decided it provided the emphasis on just how evil Starfire was that I needed, as well as other plot reasons, so I kept it. I can't wait to see your reactions to this one. Ah, sometimes I wonder if I'm evil myself. I look forward to your angry reviews.

Also, while she is evil, you will notice a drastic change in Starfire's speech. I always thought that Starfire becoming evil was a great story idea, and wondered why there weren't more (successful) fics on it. Now I'm discovering why, because it's incredibly difficult to present an evil Starfire while trying to keep her in character. So she might be really out of character, but just bear with me, please.

And now for reviewers . . .

Peppermint Sticks: Aww, you're so sweet! I love hearing that I'm a favorite author. And I joined the staff of your C2 . . . not that I actually know what to do . . . but I'm sure I'll figure it out. And I appreciate that you said this fic is the best! I hope it will continue to live up to that standard.

Aurora Starcrystal: Blair the writer-extraordinaire? That's so cute, I love it! And of course I care about your reviews, every review is highly appreciated! I love them all, and the more the better! So thanks!

Story Weaver1: Right you are! I used the Terra idea big time here, as you can see. It's not the same scenario, but still . . . the Titans have once again been caught off guard. Ouch. That's gotta hurt.

Darklight989: Wow . . . that was _the_ most interesting review I've ever gotten. It was very, very . . . entertaining.

JulesFire: I know, right? Yes, Robin is of course preoccupied with getting the bad guy, but Starfire is important too, you know! He better pass that "test of affection" on the show soon or I'm going to protest big time.

TTHPfan: Yes! JUNIORS ALL THE WAY! It's gonna be the best year ever! And yes, obviously, you were right about the Terra thing. Ouch.

xox.Annie Potter.xox: Yes, we should so sue them! I can totally see that, though, how their shadows come together indicating a kiss but you don't actually see it . . . I wish that had actually happened! Oh and I agree that Raven was OoC when she burst into laughter, sorry about that.

TheNextTitan: Aww, you're not a pain, when people ask me questions it means they're interested! So I appreciate it!

dragonofraven: I figured everyone would be suspicious, but just in case, I didn't want people to attack me in their reviews saying, "hey! Slade gave up too easily! You're an awful writer!" so I just said that for safety purposes.

Riles: Oh. They _so_ offered. And **why haven't you updated yet**? Don't make me get out my secret weapon again. I have minions. Insert evil laughter here.

And that's all for me. Review, and don't hate me too much. You know I love happy endings.

Blair


	9. Part Three: Evil

_Evil: The Other Side_

by Blair Lebeau, SocialButterfli

Summary:

Starfire has always been sweet and innocent. But when Slade realizes her power, he brainwashes her to become his next apprentice and the Titans can only watch as she embraces the other side. Is it possible that Starfire has become truly evil? RobStar

Disclaimer:

You'd think that if I owned Teen Titans, I would have told you by now. But I don't. Still. Damn.

Quote:

"I am most eager to go out and wreak the havoc." –Starfire

* * *

_Part Three: Evil_

Chapter Nine

Her eyes glowed, and as his hand stretched out towards the switch, she fired.

At that exact moment, Slade turned around abruptly, holding up a large mirror. He had anticipated this. Starfire's star bolt ricocheted off of it and hit her instead. It left her dazed, and her vision started to get foggy. She had already lost so much energy that the blow was devastating. She heard Slade's garbled voice saying something about a nice try; then he flipped the switch and everything went black.

And when she awoke, it was like she was born again.

Only this time, she was not so innocent and naive. Not innocent and naive at all. She had all this knowledge of things she never knew, a pessimistic view of life, and a strange hatred for those who were once her friends. What had she been thinking? Memories of her sweet and unsuspecting nature disgusted her. She was grateful to Slade for giving her a new awareness of life and the world around her. She could feel the evil coursing through her veins.

And when Slade asked her if she was ready to join him, she was.

* * *

Starfire stared at the deactivated tracking device in the palm of her hand. Now that she had led the Titans into the trap, she had no use for it anymore. But for some reason, she was reluctant to throw it away. It wasn't that she had a desire to turn it back on and let the Titans find her or anything; she just couldn't seem to do away with it for some inexplicable reason. Instead, she put it away in a drawer, just in case.

Now she watched as Slade looked up information on his laptop. She found it ironic to see the evil genius hunched over the keyboard, tapping the keys and reading the information so intensely that it mirrored Robin exactly when he was looking something up on the latest bad guy.

"What are you doing?" she asked, walking around the table so she could look at the screen.

"I am researching your next task," he replied, waving her off. "But it is none of your concern until I have all the information."

"So what shall I do while you do that?" she asked, pouting. "I am most eager to go out and wreak the havoc."

"No," Slade replied, ignoring her distorted version of the phrase. "I don't want you going out. You're not ready to face the Titans yet." Starfire looked confused.

"The Titans? But I thought we annihilated them."

"My dear, if you think a couple hundred robots can finish the Titans for good, you are severely mistaken," Slade said as he tapped some more keys. "If that were true, what would I need you for?" Starfire shrugged.

"I do not know. For company, perhaps?"

"The last thing I need is company," Slade remarked, not bothering to look up his persistent apprentice. "Now if you'll excuse me, I must finish gathering research on the Jewel of Charta." Starfire's eyes got big at the mention of the jewel.

"The Jewel of _Charta_?" she asked, incredulously. "But that was destroyed!"

"Yes . . . by you," Slade added, his voice indicating that he was impressed by this fact. "But the fragments were rescued and pieced back together. I intend to have you steal it and use it to defeat the Titans once and for all."

"I am still confused," Starfire admitted, sitting down on the metal bed. "Why did we pretend to be battling each other in the storage building when the Titans 'rescued' me? I thought they were supposed to believe that I was the . . . old me, so I would have their trust and be able to lead them into the trap. But what was the trap for if not to finish them?" Slade stopped typing and finally looked up at the inquisitive Starfire.

"My dear, the point of your deception was to _weaken_ them. Did you not see their faces when they realized you deceived them just like little blonde Terra did? They all have a closer connection and stronger bond to you than they did to Terra. They have known your longer and you are the least likeliest person to turn against them. That magnifies their pain a thousand times more. Especially Robin. I was quite impressed with your improvisation of the kiss. We didn't plan that, but it was a perfect addition. Where did that come from?" Starfire shrugged.

"I just felt like it." Slade frowned. The brainwashing procedure was supposed to wipe out her feelings for Robin. He had thought that she kissed Robin out of pure cruelty, but instead she had done it because she wanted to. That wasn't a good sign. It meant that, for a moment, her heart had brief control. Starfire clearly needed more work.

"Yes, you are most certainly not prepared to face the Titans yet," Slade repeated, returning to his research of the jewel. Starfire just sat there, swinging her legs, recognizing that she had been dismissed but not quite knowing what else to do.

At Titans Tower, there had always been something fun to do. Watch the boys play video games and marvel at their excitement in thrashing the others (which she now understood, because being reborn evil made her realize that defeating others was the greatest fun you could have), bother Raven until she broke a light bulb or grew extra eyes, or dance with Robin in the rain . . .

No. That wasn't right. Why would dancing with Robin in the rain be fun?

Starfire remembered the strange feeling she had, like her stomach was fluttering, when she sat next to Robin on the weight-lifting bench, when she held his hand, when she kissed him . . . It was enjoyable. She held a finger up to her lips. Maybe she shouldn't have been so rough when she kissed him. It was an impulse action; they had been so close, and she thought, why not? She vaguely remembered that before her rebirth she had always wished Robin would show such a sign of affection. Since she believed that he was going to die that night, she had figured she might as well experience it. And now she wanted to do it again, softer this time. Robin . . . there was something about him . . .

But then again, he was so damn annoying with his whole save-the-world complex. Why did he have the obsessive compulsive need to help people? It was much more fun to watch them suffer.

"By the way, my dear, I have a new uniform for you," Slade said, interrupting her thoughts. "It is folded up in one of those boxes over there, and I think it suits you much better than that . . . purple thing you have on. Besides, you need something that states the fact that you _belong_ to me."

Starfire walked over to the shelf Slade was gesturing to and searched through the boxes until she came to one that held a black and orange outfit that was made for her. As she fingered the material, she smiled. Yes. She did belong to him.

* * *

Robin collapsed to his knees, bruised and bleeding and exhausted and _hurt_. The broken robots were strewn about him, obvious signs of victory, but it didn't feel like a victory to him.

"_Then why does it not feel like a victory?"_ Robin felt nauseated as he remembered Starfire's words when they destroyed the robots Terra had set on them when she betrayed them. It was his exact feelings now, only she was not there to voice it for him. Because she was the one who caused it.

He felt a heavy hand on his shoulder.

"Come on, man," Cyborg said in a tired, sad voice. "Let's get out of here." Robin nodded, but made no attempt to get up. He knew he didn't have it in him. He was done.

"Just leave me."

"Robin," Beast Boy said. "You can't just stay here."

"Just leave me _alone_," Robin croaked, his head in his hands. "Please." He had the idea in mind that he might just lay down on the floor and wait until death came upon him. Was it possible to die from heart break? He hoped so, because he couldn't stand the agony anymore. He had a new sympathy for Beast Boy now, what with Terra and all, but this was different. This was Starfire . . . and Starfire was different.

"Sitting here surrounded by what she did isn't going to bring her back," Raven pointed out, bluntly. "It will only make things worse." Normally Robin would have understood her lack of compassion. If Raven took even a second to feel or think about what happened, she would have a mental breakdown. But at the moment, Robin didn't care about his other teammates' limitations. What he cared about was Starfire, but that sweet and innocent girl was gone.

"Okay. If you're not going to get up yourself, I'll do it for you," Cyborg decided, picking Robin up and throwing him over his shoulder. Robin made no protest. He didn't have the energy for it.

He fell into a fitful sleep on the way home. He was trying to escape reality, but his subconscious wouldn't let him forget. His dreams were filled with her, laughing over him as Slade's robots attacked him. Kissing him, leading him on, only to crush him. Beautiful, ingenuous Starfire, always the first one to build him up, now the first one to knock him down.

"Star . . ." he called out, twitching as if to escape from his nightmare. "How could you?" Raven looked over at her curled up leader, his pain screaming at her, tearing down her walls, making it possible to ignore it. She was starting to feel it too, even though she was doing everything in her power to remain apathetic. It was harder this time, because Starfire was the most angelic, forgiving, compassionate person without a single evil thought in her mind. What could Slade possibly have done to her?

"What are we going to do?" Beast Boy asked quietly, breaking the tense silence that followed Robin's outburst.

"I don't know," Raven admitted. "Even though we've dealt with betrayal by one of our own before, this time it's different." Raven took a moment to admire how well Beast Boy was taking this. She didn't even have to read his mind to tell that this was ripping open the old Terra wounds. But he didn't let it show. It had been a devastating blow, but perhaps Terra's deception did have its silver lining. Beast Boy had certainly grown up. He was stronger now.

"It is different," Cyborg agreed. "Terra had a choice." He flicked his gaze towards Beast Boy, but the green changeling showed no emotion at the fact. He had grown used to it. In the end, Terra had done what was right. And in his opinion, that was what mattered.

"How can you be sure that Starfire didn't?" Raven countered. The boys looked at Raven in shock.

"How can you even _think_ that?" Beast Boy asked, outraged. Robin moaned and twitched again, causing his friends to freeze. The last thing they wanted to do was wake him up. They lowered their voices.

"I admit that it's unlikely," Raven whispered. "But Slade is powerful, persistent, and persuasive. He got Robin and Terra to both willingly be his apprentices."

"He blackmailed Robin, using us against him," Cyborg corrected.

"True. But what about Terra?"

"Terra wasn't willing!" Beast Boy cried, but something was nagging him. In a way, she had been. Because Robin _had_ been blackmailed, but she hadn't. She could have come back to them. Instead, she went to Slade.

"Bring it down, man!" Cyborg hissed. Beast Boy winced.

"Sorry. But she wasn't. She just . . . she was just lost. Slade convinced her that he was the only one who could help her."

"Exactly," Raven shot back. "I'm not saying that if Terra hadn't been misled she still would have chosen Slade. I highly doubt she originally had malicious intent. But he made her believe that we didn't want her and that she would only burden us. _That's_ what made her betray us. His powerful, persistent persuasion.Who's to say that he didn't do the same to Starfire?"

"Starfire would never think badly of anyone, though," Cyborg commented. "Especially not us. Terra was unsure. Starfire isn't."

"Can you be sure about that?"

"_Yes_," Cyborg responded firmly. His tone suggested that the discussion was over. "He did something to her, Rae. Starfire would never do this to us on purpose. Especially not to Robin." Raven took another look at the sleeping Boy Wonder next to her.

"I hope you're right."

* * *

Aaand end chapter. This was slightly longer, which is nice because I haven't updated in so long. Sorry about that. Hope this makes up for it.

As for the kiss, some people didn't understand why she did it, but that was explained in this chapter. If you didn't get it, basically, I had Star kiss him to show that Slade's brainwashing doesn't have _complete_ control, at least, when it comes to matters of the heart . . .

Don't have much else to say, so I'll just go right to the reviewers.

Tiffany: lol Even though I highly disagree that I'm the best writer on this site, I definitely appreciate you saying that!

Aurora Starcrystal: I was pretty iffy on whether or not to include the kiss, but I had to, so I'm glad it worked for you!

Mr. Robbie-Poo: Evil Starfire? You might be referring to a quote from The End, which I haven't seen yet, so I can't really say anything about that yet.

Peppermint Sticks: Aww, you are _so _sweet! Thanks for alllll the compliments you keep giving me, I feel like I don't deserve them! I know so far I've done nothing for your C2, but I'm still learning, so I'll contribute soon, I promise! Sorry!

Mirage992: No, don't apologize, you're right, I definitely rushed it . . . sorry about that. Hopefully I slowed down with this chapter.

Darklight989: You're still the most entertaining reviewer ever.

TTHPfan: Yeah, I heard that there's an evil Starfire in The End, but of course thanks to Cartoon Network we haven't seen it yet. Sigh. I would check the sound clip out, but I don't want to be spoiled! I'll just have to wait . . . double sigh.

xox.Annie Potter.xox: Your vocab's fine, surprising and dramaticcy is exactly what I was going for with the kiss. lol!

Riles: NONONO WRITER'S BLOCK! I'm getting my minions. Actually, you're online, so I'm going to harass you now. I'm so mad at you. And while I'm looking forward to A Date for a Debt's sequel, I WANT TO KNOW WHO THE MURDERER IS MORE! So get crackin', girl, cuz I'm impatient and have stalky, harassing minions. And you think you can tell me update soon or die? Oh no. I think it's _you_ who needs to update soon or die. Yeah. You heard me. It's harassing time.

Sofia: I hope this chapter cleared Starfire's evil status up for you. She didn't escape, and then pulled a Terra on them. Muy, muy triste. (Very, very sad. I'm in a Spanish mood today.)

And that's it for me tonight. Review if you loved it, hated it, whatever. Just make sure to do it!

Blair


	10. Part Three: Evil

_Evil: The Other Side_

by Blair Lebeau, SocialButterfli

Summary:

Starfire has always been sweet and innocent. But when Slade realizes her power, he brainwashes her to become his next apprentice and the Titans can only watch as she embraces the other side. Is it possible that Starfire has become truly evil? RobStar

Disclaimer:

You'd think that if I owned Teen Titans, I would have told you by now. But I don't. Still. Damn.

Quote:

"I can't." –Robin

* * *

_Part Three: Evil_

Chapter Ten

Robin lay on his bed, staring at the plain white ceiling. He could just barely make out his friends' hushed voices, talking in concerned tones about what would happen the next time they had to face Starfire. It was only a matter of time. Slade would want to strike again when the pain was fresh, when they were still weak. They all knew it, and they all knew Robin knew it, but they wanted to spare him as much as they could after all he'd been through. They thought he was still asleep, blissfully ignorant of what had happened the day before. But if they thought slumber would cure his heart of its sickness, they couldn't have been more wrong. No matter what he did, she haunted him. Her face with those narrowed eyes was imprinted in his mind, her cruel and mocking laughter was still ringing in his ears, and he could still feel that deceitful kiss on his lips. He couldn't escape her.

All of a sudden, the quieted voices stopped, followed by reluctant footsteps and a delicate tap on his door. Even though he knew it was impossible, he hoped beyond all hope that when he opened the door it would be Starfire, and she would shout, "April Fool's!" because she didn't understand that the fooling part had to take place on the first of April, and it was all just a big, terrible joke. But the door slid open to reveal Beast Boy, and Robin knew he shouldn't feel disappointed. But he did.

"Oh, you're awake," Beast Boy said, looking surprised.

"Yeah." There was a moment of silence while Beast Boy waited for Robin to invite him in. Robin was about to say that he'd rather be left alone, but then thought better of it. Instead, he motioned for Beast Boy to come in. The truth was, the last thing Robin wanted was to be left alone.

Beast Boy and Robin just stared at each other for a minute, both knowing what Robin wanted to ask but neither being ready for it. Finally, Robin just came out and asked. It did nothing just to sit there and stare. He needed to relate to someone, and Beast Boy was the only one there who could possibly understand.

"Did you ever get over it?" Beast Boy shuffled his feet uncomfortably, then took a seat in an empty chair. Robin sat down on his bed.

"Not really. I had, kinda, come to terms with it, but this whole Starfire thing . . . it's bringing it back up. I always think about her, though, especially when I'm alone and lying in bed. When I have time to think, she's who I think about."

"How long?"

"How long what?" Robin struggled with himself. He didn't want to ask, because he didn't want to know the answer if it wasn't what he wanted to hear. But he needed to know.

"How long until the pain goes away?" He knew the answer as soon as he asked it, seeing the despaired look on Beast Boy's face, and knew that it was exactly what he didn't want.

"It doesn't." Robin put his head in his hands.

"I don't think I can handle that." Beast Boy shrugged.

"What else can you do? I went through it, Robin. I know how it feels. I know how you wonder how life can go on and how the sun can still shine when everything is so wrong. I know how you can't believe that you're still alive, how you don't know why you haven't died from heartbreak. And I also know the drastic measures people take to make the pain go away. Cause themselves physical pain instead, get drunk or drugged so they won't think about it, kill themselves so they don't have to feel anymore. Any of those options sound good to you?" Robin shook his head. "And even if they did, that would be too bad because none of us here would let that happen to you. You just have to deal with it." Robin noticed that though Beast Boy was trying to act calm and collected, the changeling was gripping the arms of the chair so tightly that his green knuckles were paling to white.

"Harsh," Robin mumbled. He was used to this from Raven. Not from Beast Boy.

"Yeah, well, the situation is harsh." They sat there in silence a moment longer.

"So what do I do?"

"Do?" Beast Boy asked, confused.

"Yeah. I mean . . . I don't feel like doing anything. But I can't just sit here and think about what I've lost. I need to . . . do something. But I don't know what." Beast Boy shrugged.

"I can't tell you that. It's different for everyone. I moped a hell of a lot, but there was always trouble that we had to go out and deal with and it helped to keep my mind off her and what happened. It kept me busy, and that was good. I just had to go on like things were normal. Then again, Terra wasn't a big part of our normal lives. Starfire was." Beast Boy saw the pained look on Robin's face, and quickly tried to correct himself. "Is. She is." But it was too late. The use of past tense made the situation seem permanent.

Was it?

And then, it happened.

They had known it would, but nothing could have prepared them for the dread they felt as the alarm blared throughout the tower. Robin felt his throat close up, knowing exactly what the danger was. Slade.

No. Not Slade. Starfire.

He couldn't do it. He couldn't face her. No matter what she was doing, he wouldn't be able to stop her. He remembered the face-off they had back when Slade blackmailed him to be his apprentice. Robin had been able to get past the other Titans. But when it came to Starfire, he couldn't do it. And neither could she.

The problem was, she would be able to now. But he still wouldn't be able to.

"We have to go," Beast Boy prodded softly. Robin shook his head.

"I can't." Beast Boy stood, and held out his hand to help Robin up. He didn't take it.

"I had to. And you're stronger than me, Robin. You're our leader." Robin looked up at his friend, anguished. He was glad he was wearing a mask, because tears were beginning to bead up in his eyes. He couldn't help it. He couldn't hold them back.

"What if I don't want to be anymore? I can't lead you into battle against her. I just can't."

"Yeah, well, that's not an option. You have to." Robin just shook his head again. "We'll find a way to stop her without hurting her. We will." There was another pause. "You have to face her eventually." Robin knew it was true.

"Okay," he whispered, finally taking his friend's outstretched hand. "Okay."

* * *

Slade smiled, pleased, as Starfire stepped into his view, wearing the outfit he had picked out for her. When the Titans saw her in it, they would get the message: she was working for him now. The Starfire they knew and loved was gone.

"Excellent," Slade said, turning to his computer. He pressed a button, and the information from the computer was transferred to the big screen that covered an entire wall. "I believe you are ready for your first task." The Jewel of Charta filled the screen.

"It is beautiful," Starfire whispered, gazing at the picture in awe. "I do not know why I did not see it before." Slade nodded, pleased at his apprentice's renewed fascination.

"I have found who is holding the repaired Jewel of Charta, and where. Luckily, though it was recovered on Tamaran, I was able to contact your planet, drop your name, and have it brought here. This was long before you joined me, but I knew that you wouldn't resist." Slade smiled at his apprentice, who smiled back. "It was a brilliant plan. I would reassemble the Jewel of Charta, and through you I would be invincible. However, a museum right here in Jump City intercepted the pieces, which turned out to be favorable because they repaired it for us. Now all we–or, rather, you–have to do is retrieve it, which I'm sure you will do with ease along with the help of a new . . . friend." Out of the shadows stepped a large silver robot, much bigger and more highly-developed than Slade's others. It was his secret project, and hopefully his most dangerous weapon yet.

"Ooh," Starfire giggled, clapping her hands with delight. Slade frowned at this. It was an innocent gesture, something she would have done before the transformation. He began to question whether or not Starfire was really ready to face the Titans yet. Perhaps such a confrontation would trigger her innocence. But it was now or never for the Jewel of Charta, and the evil smile on Starfire's face as she examined the robot was reasonably comforting.

"His sonic power well exceeds that of your old friend Cyborg," Slade boasted proudly. "He will go after the Jewel first, to throw the Titans off. They will think it is you they are to be fighting, but will be relieved to find my latest creation instead. And once they defeat him, which I have no doubt they will, they will have let their guard down and you are to fly in there, take the Jewel of Charta, and maybe cause a little emotional pain while you're at it." Slade smiled, tapping his fingers together, forming a steeple shape. He loved messing with the Titans.

Starfire, however, was more concerned with the robot.

"May I name him?" she asked. Slade grimaced. What the hell? She wanted to _name_ him? That most certainly wasn't a good sign. But it wasn't a good idea to go against the girl right before she went up against her old friends. If he angered or upset her, she might be more easily triggered.

"I suppose," Slade said. She giggled again, causing the villain even more unease.

"I believe I will call you . . ." she trailed off, pondering the perfect name. Slade waited, tense. If she named it Muffin or Mr. Shiny, the Jewel of Charta would have to wait. Starfire would need another dose of evil. "Deathstroke." Slade's eyes widened, surprised, but a sinister grin soon spread over his face.

"Deathstroke," Slade repeated. "Perfect. And now, my dear, I believe you are ready to face the Teen Titans."

* * *

Okay so for those of you who didn't know, Deathstroke was Slade's villain alias in the comic books. I just threw that in there because 1.) I wanted to show that even though Star's heart had gained control earlier, she's still evil and 2.) I needed something to call the robot. So Deathstroke was born.

Guess what else? I'm going down to my beach house. Again. And I won't be back until July 8th! Which means more time to write, but no updates. Aww. It's just too bad I couldn't have left you on a more suspenseful chapter.

Also, another note I want to make clear: **Slade is not hitting on Starfire**. Eww. Yes, I am aware that he seems perverted at times and that in the comics he and Terra were sleeping together and in the show he does seem to act like a pedophile if you have a dirty mind, but in my story, he's trying to be more of a father figure towards her. So don't get any dirty thoughts, okay? That's just gross. And oh so wrong.

And now for reviewers!

Sugarland31: Robin's grief is definitely going to be a focus point in this story, so don't worry, there will be plenty of that.

xBxMYxJaMeSxDeANxcandyclouds: Aww, please don't be depressed and cry! That would make me sad. But thanks for saying that my writing is talented and heartfelt, that means a lot!

xox.Annie Potter.xox: Starfire being Slade's is **not** dirty! Get your mind out of the gutter,now! lol

darklight989: I have no idea who Erika is, but your review was continually entertaining all the same.

dragonofraven: He didn't snap, he was just defending her. What I meant by handling the situation was that he wasn't having a mental breakdown.

CidGregor: I freaking love you. You picked up on the father/daughter thing. You are my hero. Again. And there will be quite a few Terra references in the future.

Riles: You updated, therefore I'm laying off the harassing for a while. But you need to accept inspiration, missy, because I might get bitchy if you leave it for too long.

lil lanie121: I write all my chapters ahead of time, but I went back and found a place where Starfire calls Robin "Boy Wonder" and changed it to "Birdboy" for you. You can find it when I post Chapter 12.

Samanthe2121: No, I can't see Starfire having an evil laugh either, which is one of the ways she's terribly OoC. I can't stand it, but there's nothing I can do about it. Sorry.

JulesFire: Your computer always seems to get rid of your long reviews. I hate it, it's mean! But I absolutely loved loved loved how you called that section "artfully written". That was a major compliment, so thank you so much. And as for the grammar, I'm glad you picked up on that, because I can't _stand_ awful grammar. Please don't apologize for it, I'm an AP English student and grammar is pretty much my life. Lucky me. As for the sound clips, TTHPfan told me that you can find them at www(dot)wf(dot)toonzone(dot)net and click on Teen Titans. And hopefully I will continue to meet those high standards . . . ooh, pressure.

TTHPfan: Aww, Beast Boy cries? Gah, why is CN taking so long to get The End out to us! That's so sad. And yeah, I wrote the explanation for what happened to Starfire after she fired off her star bolt in Chapter 9 because I wanted to wait until after everyone discovered that she was evil. Sad.

And that's all for me. The first part of The End is Saturday night! (Supposedly.) I heard rumors that CN was going to do all three of them in a row on July 4th, but I don't think that's happening now, which is a good thing because I'll be at a party and not near a TV, but a bad thing because I could have taped them and then watched all three in a row. Bah. Oh well. From what I've heard, it's going to be amazing.

What are you going to do now? Review! Sha-laaa! And try not to miss me too much!

Blair


	11. Part Three: Evil

_Evil: The Other Side_

by Blair Lebeau, SocialButterfli

Summary:

Starfire has always been sweet and innocent. But when Slade realizes her power, he brainwashes her to become his next apprentice and the Titans can only watch as she embraces the other side. Is it possible that Starfire has become truly evil? RobStar

Disclaimer:

You'd think that if I owned Teen Titans, I would have told you by now. But I don't. Still. Damn.

Quote:

"Yeah, I know, I'm awesome." –Beast Boy

* * *

_Part Three: Evil_

Chapter Eleven

"Let me get this straight," Beast Boy said as Cyborg started up the T-Car. "Last time I saw the Jewel of Charta, Blackfire had it, but then Starfire crushed it. And now, the Jump City Precious Gems Museum somehow picked up the remnants and put it back together?"

"That's what the report said," Raven replied, putting on her seatbelt. With how fast Cyborg liked to go in his baby, you'd have to be crazy not to wear one.

"But then I don't get it. Shouldn't Starfire be after it?"

"Be grateful she's not," Cyborg shot back. "Let's just not talk about it anymore." Robin knew that everyone was tiptoeing about the whole Starfire being evil thing because of him, and normally he would have yelled at them for it, but he was almost grateful for the protection. Every time someone mentioned Starfire's name, it was like they were stabbing him in the heart.

"Fine," Beast Boy sulked. "But just who is this Deathstroke guy anyway?"

"That's what we're going to find out," Robin said, pounding his fist into his open palm. He had gotten that sick feeling in his stomach when Raven reported that it was the Jewel of Charta that was in danger, but all dread had left him when she relayed that it was a strange new robot called Deathstroke and not Starfire that was after the powerful gem. Now he was just angry. And he couldn't wait to take his anger out on the thieving robot.

The only problem was, Raven was harboring a secret. She had been reasonably reluctant to remind the Titans that robots don't work of their own accord. Someone has to build them and control them. Why the Titans hadn't picked up on this, she didn't know. She didn't necessarily expect Beast Boy to realize something like that, what with his IQ being virtually nonexistant, and she knew that Robin was more preoccupied with other things, such as, say, the girl he loved being evil, but she_ had_ expected Cyborg, being half robot himself, to recognize that fact. And though it was an important point that she knew she should mention, Raven couldn't bring herself to tell her teammates. They would have a harder time going into battle if they knew there was the possibility that Starfire was behind it after all.

Besides, there was always the slight chance that she and Slade had absolutely nothing to do with the theft of the Jewel of Charta.

Or not.

Cyborg pulled up in front of the Jump City Precious Gems Museum and put the car into park. Robin was the first to jump out, eager to save the world. After he had been unable to save Starfire from Slade, he had been feeling relatively worthless, and his fragile ego couldn't take too much of that. He needed to redeem himself, and saving the Jewel of Charta was his best option at the moment. Not to mention that a new mission provided welcome distraction from Starfire's absence. Then again, without her firepower, it could also be a reminder . . .

The Titans rushed in to find two security guards were lying on the floor, unconscious, and a large, metallic robot smashing the security control panel. All the red lines that would trigger alarms and the glass casings protecting the valuable jewels instantly disappeared, leaving the way clear to steal them. The large robot moved towards the main attraction: the Jewel of Charta.

"Titans, go!" Robin called out, allowing himself a moment to revel in the feeling of leadership. "Whatever you do, make sure it doesn't touch that jewel. You saw what it did to Blackfire. It made her invincible." The robot, Deathstroke, seemed to take no notice of the super heroes that were rushing at him. His goal was focused: retrieve the Jewel of Charta. Until the Titans actually attacked him, they weren't a distraction. But if they got in his way of stealing the powerful gem, they were going down.

Cyborg fired the first shot, but it bounced off the shiny metal of the robot. Deathstroke turned around, revealing a sonic cannon of his own, only much bigger and more powerful. Cyborg, technologically obsessed as he was, realized the power of the cannon and yelled at everyone to get down. The Titans didn't question him; they hit the ground and Raven provided a force field around them. The blast reverberated off the walls of the force field and even though it didn't hit them the Titans could almost feel the blow. They realized just how dangerous this Deathstroke was, and how hard it was going to be to defeat him, especially because they were missing a particularly powerful and important member of their team.

"We can take him," Beast Boy said determinedly as the robot fired shot after shot at them. It seemed to know that its power would soon weaken Raven's force field. Already it was starting to waver.

"I hope so," Raven replied. "Because I can't hold out much longer."

"Man, do you see how much harm that thing is doing with only a couple shots?" Cyborg protested. "I don't mean to be a downer, but we can't take that. It's about ten times more powerful than I am, and I don't admit that easily. And from the looks of it, it's just gonna keep firing until we're toast. And none of that tofu stuff either."

"First off, moron, there is no such thing as tofu toast!" Beast Boy replied, huffish. "Second, if we all hit him at once, he doesn't stand a chance. He's got one blaster thingy. There are four of us. How does he plan on shooting all of us at once if we come at him from different places, especially if we're kicking his ass in the process?" The Titans looked at each other, skeptical on actually listening to a plan that was thought up by Beast Boy. But they didn't have any better ideas, so with a nod from Robin, they agreed that on the count of three, Raven would release the force field and the Titans would spread out and attack Deathstroke on all sides with everything they had.

"One, two, three!" Robin cried, and the black force field faded away. The Titans dodged Deathstroke's last blow and ran at him. The robot was confused; it wasn't sure which Titan was its priority. So it attacked Cyborg, because he was the first to approach. As Cy was knocked backwards, Raven used her powers to hold its sonic cannon in a vicelike grip, rendering it useless as Beast Boy in tiger-form clawed at its metal exterior and Robin kicked and beat it with his Bo staff. Deathstroke flailed its arms helplessly, and knocked Beast Boy into Raven, breaking her concentration. With his sonic cannon free, he aimed it at Robin, the only one still attacking. Robin threw a fog disk in the robot's face, making it miss, and made his escape. Meanwhile, a recovered Cyborg made final shot from his sonic cannon at where he figured its battery power was. The blow brought the large robot to its knees, lifeless. Deathstroke collapsed in a heap, and Beast Boy smiled widely and began to rub it in his friends' faces that his plan worked and led them to victory.

"Who's the smart one now?" he said, getting in Raven's face, which was starting to redden.

"Ah, I'd watch it, man," Cyborg warned. Robin glanced over to the unconscious security guards and the destroyed security panel.

"We need to get an ambulance here for those men, and fix that control panel so the Jewel of Charta, as well as all the other precious stones, are secure again," he directed. At his words, as if summoned, the security guards began to shudder. One sat up, holding his head.

"What happened?" he groaned. His eyes landed on the busted control panel. "Shit! Alex, look at the . . ." The security guard looked at the wide eyes of his partner, Alex. He followed his frightened gaze, which led to the Titans.

"T-t-Tim. . ." Alex stammered. "Look . . ." Tim's jaw dropped.

"The Teen Titans!" Tim gasped. He and Alex both scrambled to their feet and began to back away, carefully. "Don't hurt us, okay? Please, take whatever you want, just don't hurt us!" The Titans were shocked. What were they talking about?

"Tim, run!" Alex shouted. "They're villains now! They're not going to negotiate!" With that, Alex took off, Tim following close behind. The Titans continued to stare, completely floored. What ever could have made those security guards think that they were the bad guys?

The answer was obvious to Raven. They had seen Starfire. They had recognized her as one of the Teen Titans, she had unleashed Deathstroke on them or done it herself (Raven hoped it was the former) and so they believed that now the Teen Titans had turned evil.

This meant Raven's original fear was right. Slade _was_ behind this. Which meant that Starfire was somewhere in the building.

"That was . . . weird," Beast Boy said after a pause.

"When this Deathstroke guy hit them, it must've messed up their brains or something," Cyborg guessed. "Speaking of which, what are we gonna do with this guy?" he asked, indicating the fallen robot.

"We'll get him taken care of," Robin said, pulling out his telecom. "I'll make the call. Someone should make sure that the Jewel of Charta is safe." Cyborg nodded.

"I'll do it," he volunteered, heading for the gem. As he began to walk, Beast Boy noticed him favoring his left leg.

"You okay, dude?" he asked.

"Yeah, it's cool. I just landed wrong when that Deathstroke guy shot me back. But we got him, thanks to your plan, which strangely worked out." Beast Boy grinned widely.

"Yeah, I know, I'm awesome. But I was surprised how easily he went down, he was tough." Cyborg shrugged.

"I'm just glad it wasn't Starfire."

"Are you saying that you would not be pleased to see me?" Cyborg froze, as did the rest of the Titans as Starfire's voice rang out through the empty room. "This is hurtful news, as I am beyond elation. I have missed you, Titans."

* * *

Dun dun dun dun! Suspense! So I managed to get one last update in before I leave tomorrow, yay! I'm in a good mood because I just passed my **learner's permit** test, but they gave me a **driver's license** instead because the lady screwed up and typed my birthdate in as 9/5/**1889** which means that I'm 115 years old. It's the funniest thing ever, but I have to return it and get it fixed or else I'll be arrested for having a fake ID or something. Which is totally unfair because it's their fault. Sigh. I want to keep it!

Anyways, all that aside, I've had a few people ask so I'll address the issue of Starfire's new outfit. I know I haven't described what it looks like yet but that's because I'm waiting until the Titans see it so I can portray their reactions to it at the same time. Plot reasons, people, just trust me that I wouldn't leave something so important out. The outfit is described in Chapter 12, which is up next, so look for it there!

I have to leave in ten minutes to fix my permit so I have to cut this short, so moving on to reviewers.

JulesFire: They never give BB enough credit so I decided to show that he _is_ capable of being more than a nonsensical moron, lol. Father-daughter team of pure evil, I love it! Thanks so much for everything you said, it made me happy! And don't even get me started on "good" and "well" . . . when I was in 5th grade I wrote a poem about it. I'm not even kidding. Don't ask.

Nightbolts101: Aww, thanks, I love when people tell others about my stuff!

lil lanie121: You didn't get annoying, I thought it was a good idea. lol And I'm glad this fic is a dream come true, that's definitely a compliment!

xox.Annie Potter.xox: Wow I really don't think I'm that original, but I appreciate that! And if you think I'm wasting my time writing fanfiction and I should write a book instead, I guess I could just forget about this and do that . . . hah, kidding, I'd never leave you guys hanging. Plus I love the feedback!

jjangel9325232: What! Of course you're important! Don't ever think otherwise, I absolutely _adore_ all my reviewers, including you! The reason why I don't respond to you is that I never have very much time when I update, so I only write back to those who asked me a question or need a response. lol I have so many reviewers it would be practically impossible to respond to all of them! But if you ever have any questions or comments that you need me to respond to, then I definitely will. You're definitely important, and don't you forget it!

Riles: If you kill me, then how can I update? Wow, who do I sound like? YOU! I update if you update. Deal. And no I'm not going to Florida, I'm going to Ocean City because that's waaay closer. And I hate you for going away to camp. I better come back to an update on TLT or I'll be vewwy, vewwy angry and it will not turn out well for you. All that aside, I really appreciate you saying that I can get to people's emotions with my writing. That is like the sweetest compliment ever. Thank you!

darklight989: Nonstop entertainment. Although I do feel bad for that random person . . .

lil' LIK Star: Yeah, I've been told it is Part 2 where they fight their evil counterparts, and of course we're going to have to wait to see that even longer . . . I don't wanna wait anymore!

TTHPfan: Mother Mae Eye was a little creepy, so you didn't miss out on too much. Just some massive weirdness that will leave you thinking "wtf much?" Was Bewitched any good?

dragonofraven: Aww, it's okay, it's easy to get confused. And your outfit question was explained above. Sorry I made you wait for so long! And I love hearing feedback about Starfire especially since she's so difficult to write evil. So thank you!

And I'm outta here, this took way longer than I expected and I have to get this whole license thing figured out . . . Aww, I'm going to miss it. I look forward to all your reviews when I return on July 7th, so press that button and make me happy!

Blair


	12. Part Three: Evil

_Evil: The Other Side_

by Blair Lebeau, SocialButterfli

Summary:

Starfire has always been sweet and innocent. But when Slade realizes her power, he brainwashes her to become his next apprentice and the Titans can only watch as she embraces the other side. Is it possible that Starfire has become truly evil? RobStar

Disclaimer:

You'd think that if I owned Teen Titans, I would have told you by now. But I don't. Still. Damn.

Quote:

"Are you truly only going to observe as I walk away? Will you not fight me?" –Starfire

* * *

_Part Three: Evil_

Chapter Twelve

"I'm just glad it wasn't Starfire."

"Are you saying that you would not be pleased to see me?" Cyborg froze, as did the rest of the Titans as Starfire's voice rang out through the empty room. "This is hurtful news, as I am beyond elation. I have missed you, Titans."

Robin felt his throat close up and his pulse quicken as out of the shadows stepped a very different Starfire.

Her usual purple outfit was replaced by a uniform that proudly declared Slade as her master. She was wearing knee-high black leather boots with tall pointy heels, a black micro mini skirt, and a tight orange midriff top with off-the-shoulder straps. A silver metal S emblem was placed right over her heart. It was an outfit that would bring any guy to his knees.

Any guy except for Robin. No, he wouldn't deny that she looked good, but it didn't do anything for him. It just wasn't her. It wasn't _Starfire_, that adorable, sweet, joyful girl he was in love with. Nothing else meant anything to him. And as he realized that, he did a double take. He had known that Starfire meant something special to him, but he never really realized just how far gone he was.

Starfire took a painstakingly long time to fly down from her shadowy post and land in front of the team that she used to belong to. She eyed them all evenly, and there was a moment of silence, because no one knew what to say. Finally, she broke it.

"Well, this was a pleasant reunion, but I believe that there is a powerful jewel here that should rightfully belong to me." She flew past Cyborg towards the Jewel of Charta without meeting any resistance. No one wanted to attack her. They just couldn't.

Except Raven could.

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" she muttered. A streak of black energy came from her and lifted the desk that the security guards would have been sitting behind. She hurtled it at Starfire, and the alien girl fell to the ground, the desk on top of her.

"Raven!" Robin cried, looking at Starfire crumpled on the floor. "Don't hurt her!" But Starfire was unharmed; she pushed the desk off herself and lifted off the floor.

"What do you want us to do, Robin?" Raven snapped. "You want us to let her take the Jewel of Charta and therefore become invincible and erase any possibility of getting her back? Then Slade _wins_. Do you want that? You're supposed to be our leader, Robin. That means you have to lead, no matter what the circumstances." Robin stood there, overcome by great pain, but he couldn't tell if it was physical or emotional. Rather, it was a twisted, sick combination of both. He knew Raven was right, but did she realize what she was asking of him?

Before anyone could react, Starfire retaliated with a star bolt that would have hit Raven head on, except she blocked just in time. The two girls glared at each other, fire burning in their eyes.

"It's not her, Robin," Raven said quietly. "We have to fight her like we would any other criminal. Because it's just not her anymore." With that, the girls attacked, Starfire shooting rapid star bolts and Raven attempting to block them while throwing the pedestals that once held precious gems at her. Raven could tell that Starfire had grown more powerful since she turned to the other side and she wouldn't be able to hold her off much longer if the other Titans didn't step in.

But the other Titans didn't make any move to help Raven. The shock of actually seeing Starfire attack her was still processing. Soon the dark girl fell, unable to block a powerful star bolt to the stomach. This angered Beast Boy, bringing him out of his trance.

"Star, what are you doing?" he yelled. She glared at him. "How can you just do that?"

"If she had not attempted to stop me from retrieving the Jewel of Charta, then I would not have needed to harm her." Starfire smiled. "However, I might have anyway, because it was most enjoyable. Are you next?" Cyborg stepped up beside his green friend, fueled by Starfire's cruel comments.

"No. I'm next."

"We both are," Beast Boy added. Starfire shrugged, unfazed.

"More fun for me." Before either of the boys could do anything, she knocked them backwards with two shots from her eyes. They stood again and attacked. Meanwhile, Raven had recovered and was focusing her energies on the Jewel of Charta. If Cyborg and Beast Boy could continue to distract Starfire, Raven would be able to lift the gem and bring it to herself so she could keep it safe and out of Star's reach.

Beast Boy, as a cheetah, leaped at Starfire, but before he could reach her she caught him in midair. She held him for a second, using him as a shield for the blast from Cyborg's sonic cannon. Beast Boy donned his human form long enough to shriek with terror, then transformed into an elephant. This change threw Starfire off, and she collapsed under his weight. Cyborg's shot hit the wall above the regretful Beast Boy, who was scared that he had crushed Starfire. His worries soon evaporated as he felt himself being shakily lifted. Starfire had regathered her alien strength and now hurled his heavy elephant form at Cyborg. Beast Boy managed to change to his human form before careening into his friend, but the force he was thrown at caused them both to sprawl out on the ground, unmoving.

Meanwhile, Raven had successfully brought the Jewel of Charta to her, but this had not gone unnoticed by Starfire. A double shot from her eyes and hands sent Raven flying backwards, knocking the Jewel out of her hands and far out of her reach. Starfire smiled at her conquests and turned to Robin.

"Starfire . . ."

"Robin, I do not have time to mingle," she said, cutting him short. "Are you up to the challenge, or will you just watch as I complete my mission?" Robin was too stunned to reply. Starfire smirked. "That is what I thought." She floated by him in the direction of the gem. Gingerly, she lifted the Jewel of Charta from its fallen position on the ground, and admired its red shine. Gripping it securely, she turned back to the frozen Robin and the other Titans who were recovering from her attacks.

"Star . . ." Robin tried again in a strangled voice.

"Last chance, Birdboy," she taunted. Robin stared at her in disbelief. He hated that name. How could she possibly have known that he hated that name? "Are you truly only going to observe as I walk away? Will you not fight me?" Robin didn't move. "I am disappointed in you, Robin. I had thought you to be stronger than that." She heard the sound of Cyborg's sonic cannon charging up, and knew she had limited time to leave before the fight began again. Slade's directions were to complete the mission and return as quickly as possible. The time to destroy the Titans would come later, he had promised. Starfire frowned at the thought of this. Just who was Slade to be giving her directions?

"Don't make me do this, Star," Cyborg said, his sonic cannon aimed at her. She smiled at him.

"Let us see how precise your aim is," she said, hovering a few inches above ground. "Or if you truly have the heart to do it." With that, she grabbed the forgotten Deathstroke and took off, fully confident that the robotic teen wouldn't–couldn't–shoot at her.

The Titans could only watch her go, carrying a jewel so powerful that whoever wore it would become invincible.

* * *

Slade's patience began to wane as he watched his apprentice fly back to him on the screen. Unknown to Starfire, he had put a small video camera on her to track her progress. So far, he liked what he saw. She had shown no mercy to the Teen Titans, but only if they got in her way, as he had instructed, and she had completed her mission. Soon, the Jewel of Charta would be his. But not soon enough, with how slowly Starfire was flying. Why was she taking so long?

Finally, the crimson-haired girl entered the room, and Slade quickly shut the screen off. He stepped out of the darkness to meet his apprentice. He nodded his approval at her rescue of Deathstroke as she set the immobile robot down beside her, then eagerly eyed the Jewel of Charta clutched in her other hand. The actual sight of the glittering red gem made him all the more pleased at her accomplishment.

"Well done, apprentice," he said, holding out his hand, expectantly. "With the jewel in my possession and you at my side, I will have enough power to take over Jump City and, eventually, the world. Now, give the jewel to me, and _finally_ I will be invincible." Starfire smirked, made a move as if to give it to him, but then seemed to think better of it. Slade's eyes widened as she withdrew her hand.

"No," she said, enclosing the Jewel of Charta in her fist. "I believe I will keep it for myself. I feel that I have outgrown you now, Slade, and that you are only holding me back. You have taught me all I need to know. I would fare better on my own." She ripped the S emblem from her shirt and threw it at his feet. "And now, Slade, I believe our time together has come to an end."

"Insolent girl!" Slade snarled, extending his arm as to slap her. But before he could come into contact, Starfire grabbed his wrist and stopped him. Slade was thrown off by her strength, and had no time to react before Starfire hit him with her most powerful star bolt yet. For all the calculating and planning Slade had done, he hadn't expected this and was caught completely off guard. He fell backwards, and before he could recover, Starfire placed the Jewel of Charta on her shirt, where the S once was. She and Slade gasped simultaneously as a red glow surrounded her, the gem already working its power. Even if Slade attempted to attack, he wouldn't stand a chance. And when Starfire shot another star bolt at Slade, red this time, the notorious and seemingly unstoppable victim took his final bow.

Starfire smiled as she walked over to the drawer that held her deactivated tracking device. Somehow, she had just known it would come in handy. She took it out, switched it on, and dropped it on Slade's unconscious body. Let the Titans deal with him. She was on her own now.

And, evil and invincible, there was no telling what she would do next.

---

Ooh. Twisted.

Hi guys, I'm baaack! Didja miss me? I missed you! And you don't know what love is until you come back after a week at the beach and check your email to find **39** new messages. Yes, that is love. You guys are amazing!

So part three has come to an end as Starfire advances beyond evil. Ouch. And not only that, but Slade is now out of the picture . . . how will the Titans react to that? Fun!

**The End Part 1 and 2** completely blew me away. They're really exploring the extreme power that the Titans have in the final episodes of season 4. It's amazing and I love every minute of it, especially in Part 2 with the whole evil Starfire being all, "With you out of the way I can have Robin to myself . . ." Way to acknowledge it, writers! Not to mention the loooong hug they shared before Robin left, yay! I can't wait until Part 3. Except then it will be over, and apparently season 5 isn't going to start until fall . . . insert major sigh here.

Also, I've been asked how many chapters this story is going to be. Honestly, I have no idea. I'm working on Chapter 15 right now. I'm thinking maybe 20, give or take. We'll see. If it changes, I'll let you know.

Well you guys have been without an update long enough so I'm going to speed this up and get right to the reviewers. A reminder that of course I can't respond to all of you (39!) but that doesn't make me love your reviews any less! So thanks so much to everyone!

KikoGirl: Aww, you read all of it in one sitting? That's so sweet, I'm glad you like it, especially BB's sensitive side. TT doesn't get to that enough, and it's true, many other RS fic writers do tend to ignore the presence of the other Titans. Thanks for all your compliments!

Starwaterfairy343: You haven't seen Stranded? That's crazy, it was the best ever! But that's exciting that you're in a play, what play is it?

Inumonkey13: Well, you now know what Starfire looks like in her outfit, and this is definitely a RobStar story, so of course they're going to get together. All my fics are like that, I'm a total sap. As for your request, I have no idea what Fatal Frame is (I don't play video games, I know, I'm deprived) so I wouldn't be able to write a crossover for you. I don't really like to write anything outside of just Teen Titans anyway. Sorry. And I'm also watching Live 8 with U2!

jjangel9325232: It's okay, there's just so many reviewers I don't have time to comment to them all. But I'm always grateful for every review that I get, and yours are no exception!

CidGregor: Well, Slade did the whole brainwashing thing to make Starfire evil, but I think she's just a _little_ beyond that now, lol. Will the Titans be able to fix it? Hmm, you never know. I'm looking forward to your next update, so get to it!

xox.Annie Potter.xox: Hah, you're not pathetic. And we should start the "BB deserves more credit than he's given!" club. Poor guy. He is so not a moron. Well, at least, not _all_ of the time . . .

ThSamurai: How's that for suspense? Tehe.

Riles: You updated! And it was fab, although incredibly depressing. Only one more chapter before the long-awaited epilogue . . . I don't think I can stand the suspense. Ocean City is in Maryland, and yes, I was pleasantly surprised that you complimented me instead of threatening me. lol It was a nice change.

SpazztheSlob: Yeah, well, after his tofu has been insulted so many times, 'moron' is the nicest of names that BB would call Cy, lol.

TTHPfan: I've read the book Wicked, but never seen the musical. I've heard it's excellent, though. Thanks for the movie recommendations, I'll have to check them all out.

Samanthe2121: Starfire was half serious, half sarcastic. And elation means joy or excitement. Sorry, I'm in AP English and I'm always using big words.

Mirage992: I'm glad you picked up on that. Yes, Deathstroke went down easily, but he was supposed to catch the Titans off guard with Starfire. Also, I'm glad I've found someone else who loves TLT too. I'm constantly harassing Riles to tell me who the murderer is. Who do you think it is?

And now I'm out. Happy late 4th to all you fellow Americans!

Blair


	13. Part Four: Invincible

_Evil: The Other Side_

by Blair Lebeau, SocialButterfli

Summary:

Starfire has always been sweet and innocent. But when Slade realizes her power, he brainwashes her to become his next apprentice and the Titans can only watch as she embraces the other side. Is it possible that Starfire has become truly evil? RobStar

Disclaimer:

You'd think that if I owned Teen Titans, I would have told you by now. But I don't. Still. Damn.

Quote:

"This is what Slade wanted. He wanted to tear us all apart. And from the looks of things, he's succeeding." –Beast Boy

* * *

_Part Four: Invincible_

Chapter Thirteen

The car ride home was virtually silent. No one knew what to say; they all felt guilty. Starfire had known Cyborg wouldn't be able to shoot her, and she was right. At the very last second, he had put his sonic cannon down. And Robin hadn't even moved. He didn't even try. He just watched her go. He did the one thing he always promised himself he wouldn't: he failed.

And now Starfire had the Jewel of Charta. She was taking it to Slade, and he would be invincible. If the Titans couldn't stop him before, they sure as hell wouldn't be able to now. Robin cursed himself. It was all his fault.

The silence was broken for a second by Raven. She had to say it, for her own reasons. It wasn't to be cruel, it wasn't to rub it in his face, it wasn't to make him feel any worse than he already did. It just had to be said.

"You let her go."

Robin nodded, his face emotionless.

"I let her go."

* * *

Starfire knew she didn't have much time before the Titans picked up on the tracking signal. She had to collect Slade's brainwashing equipment quickly. Not that it mattered if the Titans confronted her, she did after all have the Jewel of Charta, but she preferred that they not know her plan quite yet. 

She smiled. Her plan. She was going to hook Slade's brainwashing machine up to Jump City's satellite tower, so whoever turned on the TV or radio or computer would become evil themselves and worship Starfire as their queen. She would have an entire willing army at her fingertips.

It was brilliant, and had come to her the second the power of the Jewel of Charta combined with her own. Through the gem, Starfire had not only become invincible, but she had also received knowledge on things she had never known before. Suddenly she knew which wires she would need to connect Slade's machine to the satellite tower and how to repair Deathstroke. She knew what strategy to use to control an evil army and not cause rebellion, so she would not follow in Slade's failure. She knew how to cripple each Titan; where to hit them, how to provoke them, and what to do to defeat them. She knew it would be easy.

She also knew another thing she had never known before: that the Jewel of Charta was _evil_. She had heard of it before Blackfire and known it was powerful, but thought that anyone could use it and become invincible. But this was not true. There was a reason Blackfire wanted the gem, and that was because only a truly evil person could use it to become invincible. And, in return, only a truly innocent person could remove it from that evil person's possession through defeat.

This meant that even if Starfire wanted to, now that the Jewel of Charta was in place, she would never be able to remove it. Someone innocent and pure would have to fight and defeat her to end her invincibility.

But who?

* * *

Robin remained in the car as the others slowly, sluggishly, got out. He couldn't bring himself to move. It was too much. He was hurting. That goes without saying. 

Cyborg made a move to say something to him, but Raven laid a pale hand on his arm to stop him. She shook her head, making it clear that it was best to leave him alone. He did so, reluctantly. As they walked away from their disheartened friend, all of them could feel their hearts breaking for him. And for themselves. Starfire was the sweetest girl that had ever existed. But that girl was gone. They had known it, of course, but actually facing her made it that much more real. True. Concrete.

And, now that the Jewel of Charta was in her possession, irreversible.

"What are we going to do?" Beast Boy whispered. Raven could feel the heaviness of the impending role of leadership weighing on her. It was clear that Robin wasn't able to provide any answers at the moment, so the questions went to her. The only problem was, she was as unsure as the rest of them.

"I don't know," she answered truthfully, not looking at their distraught faces. "It doesn't seem as if there's anything we _can_ do."

"There _has_ to be," Beast Boy insisted. "We can't just . . . we can't just _leave_ Star with the same guy that made her this way! Who knows what he'll do to her? Just because she meets his requirements to be his apprentice, doesn't mean she's safe from him. I saw what he did to Terra." Beast Boy shuddered inwardly as he remembered coming upon the blonde girl and all his rage dying away as he realized that Slade had been abusing her. He remembered her begging him to kill her. He had come with every intention to. But to see her the way she was, to hear her asking it of him . . . that had crushed him, hurt him more than when she had actually betrayed him.

The Titans settled into a quiet, uncomfortable silence. They all knew Beast Boy was right. But what could they do?

The silence was interrupted by a frantic beeping coming from Cyborg's arm. Cyborg's human eye widened. He knew what the beep was. But how was it possible . . . ? He lifted his arm slowly, not daring to look, not daring to hope.

"What is it?" Raven asked, urgently. Cyborg had no choice but to look.

"It's . . . it's Star," he whispered hoarsely. He stared at the screen, unbelieving. "Her . . . her tracking device. It's been activated. I know where she is."

"No way!" Beast Boy exclaimed. "So . . . we could go get her? Right now?" Cyborg nodded, a look of wonder clear on his face, but Raven was more skeptical.

"Wait," she insisted. "Something isn't right. If Slade knew how to turn it off, why would he turn it back on? He did this before, led us right into a trap. Are we going to fall for that again?" She paused to let her point sink in, then remembered something else. "It also doesn't help that he's invincible now. If this is a trap, we would never be able to defeat him, and then everything would be lost."

"But if we don't respond, then everything might be lost anyway," Beast Boy protested. "This could be our chance."

"Maybe we should let Robin decide," Cyborg intervened. "He is, after all, our leader."

"A fine leader he's turning out to be," Raven scoffed. "In case you haven't noticed, he's been a bit lacking in the leadership department. Besides, we all know that he would choose to go after her without even considering the risks. He's not stable right now. His thoughts are focused on Starfire, not on the team, or justice, or what's the best decision."

"So we're just going to keep it from him?" Beast Boy asked, incredulously. "After all he's done for us, we're just going to turn on him like that?"

"I don't know if I'm comfortable with this, Rae," Cyborg admitted. "I'm with you all the way on the possibility that this might be a trap, but I don't think we should keep secrets from Robin."

"What secrets?" The Titans froze at the sound of Robin's voice; he had finally dragged himself out of the car and overheard the last part of their conversation. His tone wasn't irritated that there was a secret, but rather, he sounded tired, like he was ready to give up. Starfire was evil, and now his team was keeping things from him . . . there's only so much one teenage super hero can take.

"Tell him, Raven," Beast Boy said, his voice almost hard. Raven glared at the green Titans, but conceded.

"Starfire's tracking device was been reactivated." She relayed the information in a matter-of-fact, monotone voice that she hoped would keep Robin from getting worked up over it. It didn't help. Robin's eyes widened and reflected his determination to save Starfire. He was convinced that this was his chance.

"Let's go," he commanded, in a tone that left no room for discussion. "Wherever she is, we have to get there as soon as possible."

"But Robin, you have to consider . . ."

"Raven," he barked, cutting her off so sharply that she almost jumped. "I'm not considering anything except for the fact that Starfire, a member of our team, is in danger and in turn endangering the city. We need to do _everything_ we can to get her back. This is the perfect opportunity, and if you think I'm going to let this pass, then you're a fool." Raven couldn't help but feel stung by his words. They were piercing and cruel, and not like Robin at all.

_Hypocrite_, she thought bitterly. _You're one to talk about doing everything we can and not letting opportunities pass. You just had your chance to stop her, and you let her go. So who's the fool, Robin?_

"Just what do you intend to do?" she asked, icily. "Waltz in there, somehow manage to defeat the now-invincible Slade, and magically change Starfire back to her old innocent self? You want to tell me how you plan to do that?"

"Do _you_ have a better plan, Raven?" Robin countered. "If you've got all the answers, let's hear them."

"I may not have all the answers, but at least I'm keeping my head."

"What are you saying, Raven? That I'm not fit for leadership? What, do you want to be the leader of the Teen Titans now? Do _you_ think you're qualified? I'd like to see you try to handle all the pressure I deal with."

"You're not handling it very well right now."

"**HEY!**" Cyborg shouted. "Break it up! What good is this doing? Bickering isn't going to get Starfire back." Raven quieted, but Robin's temper was still flaring.

"Yeah, I bet you think you'd be a better leader than me, too," Robin raged, turning on Cyborg. "You've been waiting for this, haven't you? You've been waiting for me to have a meltdown so you can come in here and take over. I know you've always wanted to be leader, right from the beginning when we were going after Cinderblock and _you_ screwed up and then threw a hissy fit and left. And then there was that whole Titans East thing . . ."

"Hold up, I know you're not saying that about me," Cyborg said, outraged. "All this time I've had your back and this is what you think of me? You're nothing by an arrogant, obsessive, selfish little punk who can't even get over himself for a second to realize that he's breaking Starfire's heart by being so blocked-off . . ."

"_What did you say_?"

"Guys!"Beast Boy stepped in the middle of the raging friends, holding his hands up. "Guys. Calm down. Seriously. What are you doing? We're friends. All of us. And look at how we're treating each other. This is what Slade wanted. He wanted to tear us all apart. And from the looks of things, he's succeeding. And the more he succeeds, the more we lose. And the less likely it is that we'll get Star back. Do you want that? Do you want to lose Starfire just because of a stupid fight?" Beast Boy's reasoning finally got through to the hot-headed Boy Wonder; he held his head in his hands, letting out a noise of despair and frustration. Finally, he was able to look Raven and Cyborg in the eye.

"I'm sorry," he apologized, sincerely. "I'm just . . . so . . . _lost_ right now. I'm hating myself for my failure and inability to lead you guys like I should. But I shouldn't take it out on either of you. I'm sorry for what I said, to both of you. I know you're just trying to help." Raven nodded, accepting his apology, and Cyborg shrugged.

"That's all we ever try to do, man. Help. We're your team, we're your friends, we're always behind you one hundred percent." Robin hung his head.

"I know. I'm sorry." Cyborg put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"It's okay. Now let's go get our girl." The half robot looked at Raven for her permission, and she nodded.

"We'll go. But we have to be prepared. If Slade attacks and he's wearing the Jewel of Charta, we have to get out of there, with Starfire or without. Because if we go down, then we can never save her." The Titans all agreed and then headed back to the T Car, readying themself for what they believed would be the fight of their lives.

Little did they know that Slade wasn't going to be putting up much of a fight at all.

* * *

Okay. Not much to say, I really want to get this up quick because I have so much to do today. Sorry I waited so long to update, but I wanted to wait until The End part 3 aired. And now that it has, we have to wait forever for new episodes. I'm so depressed. 

The End part 3 wasn't as good as part 2, but I loved it all the same. Very powerful, and Slade was just so kickass. Did anybody notice Starfire's eyes when Raven hugged Robin? That was just hilarious.

Also I had a lot of really nice reviews from my last chapter, and because I can't reply to all of them, especially because I'm in a rush, I really wanted to say thanks to everyone who did review because I really appreciated what people said. So thanks you guys! 3

dragonofraven: It's true, Raven is extraordinarily powerful and might be able to take Starfire, but for plot purposes, Starfire had to come out on top.

Cosmiclimate: Aww I'm glad it was worth the wait, that's so nice to hear because it was a pretty important part of the story and I wanted to get it right. So thanks!

Aurora Starcrystal: That's exactly what I was going for, so thanks for the reassurance that I got my point across!

Riles: Bite me, kthxbye. Haha just kidding...or am I? I hate you more than you hate me! So there.

Star+Robin: Really, it surprised you? Thanks! And yeah, you're right, if you look at the evil Starfire from The End and evil Star from here they do fit together. I'll have to look to her for further inspiration. Haha I'm glad this is the best Starfire-is-kidnapped-by-Slade-and-becomes-evil scenario ever, thanks!

Captain Cyborg Enterprise-T: Poof! Haha thanks for saying that I'm one of the best fanfic writers, but it's definitely not true. There are a lot better quality writers, trust me. As for the Jewel of Charta being put back together, I actually have no idea, I doubt they used super glue, but I'm sure there was some sort of special machine that could piece it back together. Who knows?

Funvince: Yes, Robin is really messed up, lol. Actually the Titans don't really know why Starfire is evil. They don't know what happened...yet.

xox.Annie Potter.xox: I know, today is the best day ever because (for America) we see Part 3, and the 6th Harry Potter book also comes out! Pretty exciting! I wonder who's going to die...I think it's probably Dumbledore. Or Neville. But I hope not, cuz I like both of them. Why does she keep killing people off? Sirius was my favorite! I miss him.

Princess Starfire of Tamaran: Welcome back, did you have fun? Actually, your idea of what Robin would do is going to come into play near the end of this fic, you'll see. Right now I just wanted to portray his shock and inability to react. It'll happen, you'll see!

ThSamurai: That's brilliant. I never thought of that, but when you suggested it, I read over the chapter and thought of the evil Starfire from Part 2's voice and it fit perfectly! Which is pretty exciting, I think. I'm glad you like this!

TTHPfan: Downright evil is pretty much what I'm going for, lol. Even though they might have kissed I'm glad it's not the last season because I don't know what I would do without new episodes of Teen Titans! Waahhh!

CidGregor: I've decided that I'm not talking to you. Tehe.

TheNextTitan: Raven was using her hand shield because Starfire was coming right at her, not from all around her.

SpazztheSlob: I can't believe you're going to miss it, it was just so amazing! You have to see it ASAP. It was pretty much the most well done episode ever.

Okay I really have to go now but thanks to everyone who reviewed, wanna do it again? You know you want to. Press the button and type your praise or criticism now! Cuz I said so.

Blair


	14. Part Four: Invincible

_Evil: The Other Side_

by Blair Lebeau, SocialButterfli

Summary:

Starfire has always been sweet and innocent. But when Slade realizes her power, he brainwashes her to become his next apprentice and the Titans can only watch as she embraces the other side. Is it possible that Starfire has become truly evil? RobStar

Disclaimer:

You'd think that if I owned Teen Titans, I would have told you by now. But I don't. Still. Damn.

Quote:

"Starfire. She wanted us to find him. She wanted us to know what she is now capable of doing." –Robin

* * *

_Part Four: Invincible_

Chapter Fourteen

Robin watched as Slade's unconscious body was lifted onto a gurney and rolled away towards a waiting armored truck that would take him to prison. For the first time since Starfire's conversion, his mind was free of random, frantic thoughts. Devoid of emotion, he felt detached from his body, as if what was happening was a dream and not real.

Starfire's locator had led them to Slade's well-camouflaged underground hideout. They hadn't been sure what to expect, whether it was another trap or not, so they had entered with caution, only to find it completely unnecessary. Slade was sprawled out unconscious next to his desk, where the Jewel of Charta information was still displayed on his laptop screen. After checking for and finding a pulse, the special security police were alerted to the situation and location. The Titans were told to stay with the body in case it regained consciousness. So until the police's arrival, the Titans had been stuck there with a body and no answers.

And now even though they were there, answers still had yet to be found.

If they police were surprised or impressed by the takedown of Slade, they showed no sign of it; then again, with those Darth Vader-esque masks, you wouldn't have been able to tell anyway. As they wheeled Slade out, one remained behind, looking around at the lab, studying the various liquids and machines that surrounded him.

"We'll need this place empty in order to case it," he said, his voice muffled through the mask. "Good job, kids, but we'll take it from here." It took a moment for the Titans to realize that he was addressing them and that they had been dismissed. Beast Boy stuck his tongue out at the policeman's back as they reluctantly made their way out of Slade's hideout.

"Kids," he sniffed, crossing his arms. "Just who do they think they are, kicking us out like that? After all, did they take down Slade? Noooo."

"Neither did we," Raven pointed out. Beast Boy deflated, then crossed his eyes and stuck his tongue out again, this time at the cynical empath. She snorted.

"Very mature."

"You two wanna shut up any time soon?" Cyborg snapped. "We need to focus on what the hell happened back there!"

"Starfire happened," Raven remarked, darkly.

"Wait, you think Star did that?" Beast Boy asked, surprised. Raven nodded.

"How else do you explain her absence?"

"Maybe she got scared that someone could overtake Slade and ran," Cyborg suggested.

"Don't forget the Jewel of Charta," Beast Boy added. "It was missing too. So how does that fit in?" Cyborg shrugged.

"Considering her history with it, she might have realized just how dangerous it would be in Slade's possession. She could have overthrown whatever control he has over her and fought him off."

"Or maybe she just wanted it for herself." Cyborg and Beast Boy both stared at Raven, shocked.

"You're joking," Beast Boy said, incredulously. "Starfire would never do that."

"Our Starfire wouldn't," Raven corrected. "But we're not dealing with our Starfire."

"What are you saying?" Cyborg asked, suspiciously.

"She probably did overthrow Slade, but not because she realized what she's doing is wrong. She did it because she discovered that with the Jewel of Charta, she would be able to do what we haven't: defeat him. Now she's the one invincible, without Slade's agenda to hold her back. So the question is, what is she going to do next?"

"That's _impossible_," Cyborg insisted.

"Starfire wouldn't! She couldn't!" Beast Boy agreed.

"She did," Raven said, simply.

Robin had remained silent while he team argued over what had happened. If it had been any other mission, he would have contributed. But not today. Not in this situation. His mind wasn't ready to consider the possibilities. Starfire's impending good nature was already in question, now the Jewel of Charta and Slade's capture were thrown into the mix.

Robin knew that Slade's defeat had shaken him. It still hadn't quite set in that Slade was no longer a problem. He wasn't a factor in this equation anymore. It didn't seem to make sense. Slade was always the notorious villain who was a constant threat to Jump City. He was Robin's archenemy, his obsession. Slade was there from the beginning, and while other villains had come into play, it still all came down to him. Slade. The only name that could instill such hate in Robin like no other. It was hard to imagine a crime without Slade behind it. It was hard to imagine a day without Slade's defeat as the ultimate goal. For so long the Boy Wonder was tormented by him and searched for a way to bring him down. And now that was accomplished. But not by Robin. He wasn't even there for it. It was the most anticlimactic capture of the most threatening, omniscient villain ever to haunt Robin's mind.

Perhaps that was why it didn't seem real to him.

"Well if you know it all, why don't you tell us where we should start looking?" Cyborg snapped. Raven glared, a black outline of power flaming around her.

"At least I'm helping," she retorted. "Your lead was a dead end."

"Hey, at least the reactivated locator led us to Slade," Cyborg objected.

Robin looked up abruptly, jarred from his thoughts as Cyborg's words set in. Realization closed in on his heart and held tight.

"Someone had to activate the tracking device," he said, quietly. "Starfire. She wanted us to find him. She wanted us to know what she is now capable of doing." Their leader's sudden realization of Starfire's plan left the Titans speechless. That was fine. Robin didn't need any feedback. He was back in control.

"We have to get back to Titans Tower," he commanded. "We can figure out our next move there." With that, he strode off towards the T-Car, which was parked near the armored truck. The Titans stared after him, startled, but had no choice but to follow. Robin didn't even glance over as the police loaded Slade into the truck. It was the end of an era, but the beginning of a new one. Slade wasn't his number one priority now.

Starfire was.

* * *

Starfire frowned. Slade's brainwashing equipment and the still lifeless Deathstroke were proving to be a cumbersome burden. Although the Jewel of Charta was supplying her with endless energy and strength, she still couldn't continue to carry the load without a set destination in mind. It had never crossed her mind that after doing away with Slade she would need somewhere else to hide. But she was a criminal now. The Titans would be looking for her.

She needed to repair Deathstroke so that if the pesky Titans discovered her plan, the robot would be able to hold them off while she put the finishing touches on her masterpiece. Then while all of Jump City was turning evil, she could find the time to do away with them herself. It was a moment she was very much looking forward to; but for now, she still needed somewhere to perform Deathstroke's necessary repairs. Luckily, the damage was minimal: the robot only needed its battery recharged. But Slade had been surprisingly unprepared for such a dilemma. Starfire had searched for recharging equipment but hadn't found any. The only place she knew of that would have it available was Cyborg's room in Titans Tower.

Starfire paused. She had been feeling slightly homesick, though she never would have admitted it to herself. But there was just something about Titans Tower that made it home, no matter where you are or what you've been through. Maybe a visit wasn't such a bad idea. After all, what other choice did she have? And the tower wasn't so far off. With Deathstroke restored, she thankfully wouldn't have to carry it anymore. Starfire figured the Titans would be too preoccupied, not to mention shocked, with Slade, so she could probably get in and get out before they came home.

Her mind made up, Starfire switched direction and headed towards the gigantic T that she knew and loved. Besides, while she was there and waiting for Deathstroke to charge up, she could always mess around with Cyborg's security system and lock the Titans out of their own home. A wicked smile crossed Starfire's face. Yeah. It couldn't hurt to have a little fun with the Titans one last time before she brought them down.

---

Okay, so it's been a while since I've updated, which I feel really bad about especially because I have these chapters written in advance so there's not much holding me back from updating. But I've been crazy busy, and even now I don't have much time, but I didn't want to hold out on you any longer. However, I don't have time to respond to any of the reviewers, but I figured you'd rather have the next chapter now rather than wait for when I have more time, which probably wouldn't be soon.

So do the review thing because I love them and they inspire me to keep writing, and hopefully by the next update things will have calmed down more and I'll be able to respond! Sorry the update took so long. Hope it was worth the wait!

Blair


	15. Part Four: Invincible

_Evil: The Other Side_

by Blair Lebeau, SocialButterfli

Summary:

Starfire has always been sweet and innocent. But when Slade realizes her power, he brainwashes her to become his next apprentice and the Titans can only watch as she embraces the other side. Is it possible that Starfire has become truly evil? RobStar

Disclaimer:

You'd think that if I owned Teen Titans, I would have told you by now. But I don't. Still. Damn.

Quote:

"And I realized that, somewhere, I lost it. I lost what I'm supposed to be fighting for: justice." –Robin

* * *

_Part Four: Invincible_

Chapter Fifteen

Starfire approached Titans Tower with a forlorn smile, knowing that it would be the last time. After she recharged Deathstroke, she would immediately head to Jump City's satellite tower and proceed with her plan. Then with an entire city as her evil army, there would be no turning back and the Teen Titans would be done for, once and for all. Once that was accomplished, she might as well destroyed the tower, too. While flying she had come to the decision that she needed to erase all memory of who she used to be. It seemed that things that reminded her of her past had a softening effect on her, such as her current visit to Titans Tower. And that had to end.

After all, what kind of evil villain has nostalgic feelings for the times of their innocence?

Starfire slowly pressed her hand into the DNA scanner that Cyborg had installed for entrance security. After a moment, the scanner blinked green in recognition and a female computerized voice authorized her entry.

"Identity confirmed. Starfire." The heavy doors slid open in welcome. Starfire didn't hesitate before stepping over the threshold into Titans Tower. It was good to be home.

She lifted Deathstroke over her head and carried it to Cyborg's room first. It was as if the Jewel of Charta was mentally telling her which wires to hook up where; she would have never known how to use Cyborg's equipment otherwise. It was the first time in a while that she'd seen Cyborg's room. After many failed attempts to help Cyborg with his mechanics projects, she had been banned from touching any of his stuff for fear of making things worse than they already were. But of course she wasn't going to heed his forbiddance now. Who was going to stop her?

Finally, all the wires were connected and the power was surging to the immobile robot's battery. While it was charging, Starfire ventured out of Cyborg's room to her own. At first glance it seemed to be exactly the same as she left it, as if no one had entered her room after her absence. But a closer look revealed one single thing to be missing: a picture frame from her dresser. She was surprised, and felt slightly saddened by its disappearance. Before her transformation, that picture had been her most prized possession.

Starfire quickly shook it off. That was then, this was now. Why should she care about some stupid picture frame?

The purple and pinkness of her room was starting to annoy her. Disgusted by her color choices, she decided to move on to Robin's room. She tentatively stepped into the dark area, feeling along the wall for a light switch. Illuminated, the teen hero's domain revealed his workaholic tendencies. The walls were lined with overlapping newspaper clippings of villains they had fought and conquered. A single metal desk hosted a computer and various objects obtained from fights that had not yet been secured in the evidence room.

But there was something else on the desk that caught her eye. Her stomach flip-flopped as she recognized the missing picture frame, holding the picture of herself dancing with Robin the night they were crowned King and Queen at Kitten's prom. For some reason, after her disappearance, Robin must have taken it from her room and put it in his. But why would he want it?

Starfire took a quick step back, as if putting space between her and the picture would make her strange feelings go away. The lump in her throat sickened her. Why did she feel this way? She was _evil_, she was _invincible_; a simple picture shouldn't affect her like this. In a sudden surge of anger, she knocked the frame to the ground, ready to blast it to bits. Her eyes glowed red, but for some reason, she couldn't do it. She just couldn't destroy that memory. She took another step back, terrified by her inability, then turned on her heel and fled from the room, leaving the door gaping open behind her. She rushed to Cyborg's, glad to see that Deathstroke was fully recharged. She needed to get out of there, as soon as possible. The memories were too much for her. Visiting Titans Tower was turning out to be a bad idea.

Just as she detached the wires, a female computerized voice reverberated throughout the tower, warning her of the Titans' arrival.

"Identity confirmed. Cyborg." Starfire froze, rooted to the spot. Why were they here already? She had expected the shock of Slade's takedown to detain them longer. But now they were here, and with no windows in Cyborg's room to escape through, she was trapped. She would have to try to hide herself in the shadows of the robot's room. She quickly hit the lights and backed herself and Deathstroke into a corner behind a machine. As a last minute consideration, she flipped the switch on the robot's back, powering him down. One wrong move and they would be discovered. And Starfire wasn't sure if she wanted that yet. This certainly wasn't part of the plan. She was supposed to have an entire evil city backing her up before she faced the Titans in a final showdown.

Not that she would need the help.

* * *

Normally, Starfire sat in the front passenger seat of the T Car. But Robin, with his newfound take-charge attitude, was now filling her absence. He stared straight ahead, silent and serious.

"So what happened back there?" Raven asked, interrupting the silence that filled the T Car on the way home. Their leader's abrupt change in attitude surprised her, so she was curious. And Raven wasn't the kind of person to hold back. "What made you finally wake up and face reality?" Cyborg's human eye widened, and Beast Boy elbowed the dark girl in the ribs, which resulted in a frightening death glare. Beast Boy laughed nervously and mouthed an apology. Meanwhile, Robin wasn't having the irritated reaction that his two male teammates had expected. In fact, he was quite calm, as if he expected the question.

"All my life as a Teen Titan, I've been chasing after Slade, this omnipresent arch enemy who had this certain mystery about him that made him seem all the more evil. He was my top priority, he pulled me in and I became obsessed." There was an intake of breath. Yes, he most certainly had, and no one had forgotten it. "I was convinced he was the ultimate bad guy, the essence of evil, and I would forever trying to bring him down until the one day when I would, and Jump City would finally be safe . . . and I could finally rest.

"And now he's done. In jail. And not because of me. Because of _Starfire_, and for all the wrong reasons. And I realized that, somewhere, I lost it. I lost what I'm supposed to be fighting for: justice. I let my obsession of Slade get in the way of what the right thing to do was. And now I'm letting my . . . my _feelings_ for Starfire get in the way. And that makes me weak. You were right, Raven, I'm not fit to be a leader. But I am one. So I'm going to do my best to be the leader that the Teen Titans deserve, and the hero that Jump City needs. Even if it means setting my personal feelings aside." Robin finished his speech and fell silent again.

There was a pause before Raven finally spoke up.

"You're everything Jump City could ask for in a hero," she said, quietly. Robin noticed that smiles were gracing the faces of his teammates. Cyborg clapped the spiky haired teenager on the shoulder.

"Rae's right, man."

"You're the best," Beast Boy agreed. "Well, you know, with the exception of me." This time it was Raven who elbowed Beast Boy in the ribs, only much harder. The green changeling choked and coughed, trying to will the air back into his lungs. Raven smiled again, satisfied.

"Thanks," Robin replied, his voice tinged with emotion. "And you guys are the best team any leader could ask for."

"You bet we are!" Beast Boy replied, pumping his fist in the air.

"I feel like we should hug or something," Cyborg mused.

"_Not_ happening," Raven replied, firmly.

And Robin almost smiled.

* * *

Cyborg yawned and headed to his room to recharge. After they shared their little team moment in the T Car, Robin had suggested that they all take a break upon their arrival home. It was obvious that no one had slept–or, in Cyborg's case, fully recharged–since Starfire went to the other side. And if they were going to face her, invincible, they needed all the energy they could get.

The door to his room slid open, and he didn't even bother turning on the lights. He knew where everything was and could get around with his eyes closed. He laid down on his metal bed, reached to his bedside table and reached around for the wires. He frowned. They weren't where he had left them, which was unusual. It wasn't like anyone had gone into his room. They couldn't have, he went straight there from the garage. And the rest of the Titans had been with him up until then, and no one else had the access code to the Tower . . . well, no one except . . .

The dark was suddenly illuminated by a creepy pair of glowing red eyes.

Cyborg screamed.

* * *

Okay, so Starfire had a little freakout flashback of her innocent past, Robin gave a nice little speech, and Cyborg is screaming like a little girl. What fun!

So life has been major hectic for me, so once again I've taken a little while to update and I still don't have time to go through reviewers. You know I love you all, though, and I appreciate you guys and your feedback. So thanks!

I have to get ready to go to driver's ed, a hellishly boring but required class if I ever want to drive. MD is way strict when it comes to allowing people to drive. Gahh. So I thought I would update really quick so you guys wouldn't have to wait anymore. Review, because it makes me happy, please!

Blair


	16. Part Four: Invincible

_Evil: The Other Side_

by Blair Lebeau, SocialButterfli

Summary:

Starfire has always been sweet and innocent. But when Slade realizes her power, he brainwashes her to become his next apprentice and the Titans can only watch as she embraces the other side. Is it possible that Starfire has become truly evil? RobStar

Disclaimer:

You'd think that if I owned Teen Titans, I would have told you by now. But I don't. Still. Damn.

Quote:

"Come on, Star, do you really want to do this?" –Cyborg

* * *

_Part Four: Invincible_

Chapter Sixteen

Starfire flinched as Cyborg's yell reverberated throughout the tower. There were many, many levels and rooms in Titans Tower, but she was sure that the volume of his scream reached each and every one of them. It was only a matter of times before the Titans came to his aid.

She regretted her eyes glowing; she had thought that Cyborg's own eyes would be closed and her escape would go unnoticed. She should have waited longer. Now she would have to deal with this obstacle sooner than she would have liked.

"Cyborg!" Robin's voice came.

"What's going on?" That was Raven.

"Are you okay, dude?"And Beast Boy. Gang's all here.

The lights went up and so did Starfire as the rest of the Titans arrived. The four stared at their former teammate, who was backed into a corner with a shutdown robot hunched down next to her. Her eyes were still glowing a threatening red, and they all readied themselves for a fight.

"This is not an ideal situation," Starfire said, hovering a few inches off the ground. The Titans eyed her warily. "I had planned on our confrontation to come much later, but it seems as if now I have no choice."

"You've always had a choice," Robin interjected, his voice coming out strangled and much squeakier than he would have liked. "You still have one now . . . you can choose to come back to us." Starfire shrugged.

"I _could_, yes, but why ever should I want to? I have very much enjoyed being evil, and it has so far been working out to my advantage."

"That stops now," Beast Boy replied. "Because now you've got to deal with us." Starfire laughed mockingly.

"Please, I have dealt with you before, at much lesser power. What could possibly make you believe that you can take me?"

"We outnumber you," Beast Boy pointed out.

"But you do not outpower me," Starfire replied. "I could easily blow you all away as if you were feathers floating on the air." The Titans paused for a moment. This was true.

"Come on, Star, do you really want to do this?" Cyborg asked. Starfire considered her answer.

"Well, no; at least, not under these circumstances. I have other things to attend to first. However, it does not seem as though you will let me go on with what I had planned and return to do this battle at a later time."

"Not likely," Raven said, monotone. Starfire bit her lip. She didn't want to finish the Titans yet. She wanted to gloat and bask in the glory of her ingenious evil plan first, then bring them to their end. She had to stall them and make her escape. A broad smile spread over her face as she glanced at Deathstroke and an idea formed in her head.

"Well then I suppose I will just have to have my robot deter you from stopping me as I go along with my plans," she said, gesturing to Deathstroke.

"Hah, bring it on!" Beast Boy exclaimed confidently. "Thanks to my brilliance, he went down easy last time." Starfire smirked.

"Deathstroke went down too easily before because he was merely the opening act before the main attraction," Starfire said, indicating herself. The Titans gritted their teeth at the metaphor. "The last time you faced him, you were not his principal target. Now, you are."

Starfire reached behind the robot's back and turned its power on. It shuddered, and came to life.

"Well, this has been fun, but I really must be on my way," Starfire said. "I have a city to turn evil."

"_What_?" The Titans stared at her incredulously. Starfire smiled. Just the reaction she was looking for.

"Oh, it is just a little plan of mine," she said nonchalantly. "I am simply going to hook up Slade's brainwashing machinery to the Jump City satellite tower and perform the same procedure on the city that he did on me."

To Starfire's disappointment, no one commented on her evil genius plan. They were too busy processing the other information she had just given them: she had been brainwashed. And that meant that she, Starfire, wasn't necessarily evil. She had just been made to _think_ she was, and hadn't been doing any of this of her own free will.

Did that mean that there was still a chance to save her?

"Do not worry, just because you will be busy fighting Deathstroke does not mean that you will miss out on the show," Starfire added, trying to direct attention back to her plan. "Deathstroke is to only to keep you out of my way, not fatally wound you. That will come later when we resume our own personal battle. Tata, Titans." Satisfied with the look on their faces, Starfire commanded Deathstroke to go after them, gathered Slade's machinery in her arms, and flew over the Titans' heads, out of Cyborg's room, and out of the Tower. They immediately started after her, but Deathstroke leapt into action and blocked their path.

"Remember my brilliant plan?" Beast Boy reminded them. "Split up; he can't go after all of us at once!"

"And meanwhile someone can escape and go after Starfire," Raven added. "I'll . . ."

"I'll go," Robin volunteered, jumping up to meet the charging Deathstroke. He threw a fog disk so it wouldn't be able to see him as he drop kicked it in the face.

"I don't think that's a good idea," Raven protested as she used her powers to stop Deathstroke's wildly flailing arms from knocking Robin to the floor.

"I'm _going_," he said more firmly, leapfrogging over the robot and out into the hallway. Deathstroke turned and aimed its sonic cannon at Robin's retreating figure, but Beast Boy transformed into a lion, leapt up, and tackled the robot. It fell forward through the door and into the hallway, blasting a large, gaping hole in the opposite wall. Cyborg's jaw dropped open as Beast Boy backed up and shook off chunks of plaster. He transformed back into his human form and looked at Cyborg apologetically, but luckily it wasn't him whom Cyborg was fuming at.

"You . . . my wall . . . my Tower! Ohh, you're going _down_." Cyborg sprang at the fallen robot as did Beast Boy. But Raven hung back, thinking and, well, worrying. She wasn't sure of Robin's ability to stop Starfire, and wanted to keep an eye on him. What Starfire was planning to do would be devastating, and possibly irreversible. If Robin failed . . . well, Raven didn't want to think of that possibility.

_Maybe I should go after him_, she considered, anxious. _Cyborg and Beast Boy can handle Deathstroke by themselves, can't they?_

"Raven!" Apparently, they couldn't. Starfire hadn't been lying; now that the Titans were its main objective, Deathstroke was much tougher. Cyborg had already tried what he had done last time, but the blast from his sonic cannon aimed at the robot's battery pack was easily blocked. Raven sighed. She would just have to put her trust in her leader. But whether that was enough, she didn't know. She could only hope.

Raven looked over the battle scene before her. Deathstroke had Cyborg pinned down with one arm but Beast Boy's saber tiger teeth were sunken into its other arm and Deathstroke was desperately trying to shake him off while Cyborg used Beast Boy's distraction to try to escape.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" she shouted, and various electrical cords that were lying on a metal table in Cyborg's room shot forward and wrapped themselves around Deathstroke's feet until it lost its balance and fell. Unfortunately, it fell on top of Cyborg, taking metallic Boy with it. Raven resisted urge to just walk away and leave her two teammates there as they struggled to free themselves of the unseemly dog pile. Pathetic.

Finally the robot regained its balance and stood, releasing Cyborg but stepping on Beast Boy's face.

"Gahhh!" Beast Boy wailed. He quickly morphed into an alligator and snapped at Deathstroke's foot. The robot stumbled backwards into Cyborg, its foot still trapped in the green reptile's snout. It raised its sonic cannon, but a quick "Azarath Metrion Zinthos" brought a carefully aimed black energy from Raven that managed to disassemble it. Deathstroke watched as its lost weapon fell to the floor, but the robot remained unfazed. While the sonic cannon was the only artillery Deathstroke had used so far, Slade was not an amateur. Upon building Deathstroke, he supplied the robot with many more weapons, each more powerful than the last, to be used if necessary. And now, it was.

Deathstroke kicked free of Beast Boy's grip and hit Cyborg heavily in the chest so that he flew through his doorway and back into his room. Unhindered, the robot stretched out its other arm; the mechanical hand receded and a large, futuristic taser gun took its place.

"What's that thing do?" Beast Boy asked, rubbing his sore jaw and retreating back to his friends.

"Only one way to find out!" Cyborg replied before rushing the robot at full speed. There was the high pitched sound of the taser charging, a flash of red, the crackle of surging electricity, and a solid _thump_ of Cyborg's body hitting the ground.

"Cy!" Beast Boy cried out. The humanoid's red eye flickered to black as his battery cell drained. Luckily, the wires that had previously been used to recharge Deathstroke were nearby.

"Beast Boy, distract Deathstroke while I recharge Cyborg," Raven called as she willed the wires to fit into Cyborg's battery pack. Immediately the hum of electricity flowing through Cyborg's circuits filled the room.

Meanwhile, angered, Beast Boy had taken the form of a bull, pawed the ground and snorted steam through his nostrils, then charged. But Deathstroke was ready for him with another zap of electricity. Upon hearing the taser charge up, Beast Boy stopped his charge and immediately turned into a monkey and leapt out of the way. After the shot missed him, he jumped at Deathstroke, screeching and clambering about the robot's head. It thrashed its arms wildly at the monkey, desperate to remove the furry figure from its head. Finally, Beast Boy was thrown to the ground, so hard that he was stunned for a moment. The hum of Deathstroke's taser charging brought Raven's attention to the dazed green monkey that was in its line of fire. Before Beast Boy could even shriek, a shield of black energy blocked the blast, causing it to bounce off and burn a hole in Cyborg's ceiling.

"Thanks, Rae," Beast Boy said, breathlessly. He made his way to her side. "Is Cyborg going to be alright?"

"He'll be fine," Raven replied, eyeing Deathstroke warily. "Luckily there was minimal damage, so he should be restored in no time." Under her breath, she added, "Serves him right for just rushing at him like an idiot."

"What?"

"Nothing." Their conversation ended there as Deathstroke charged, taser outstretched and humming with deadly electricity. Beast Boy was ready to fight back, but Raven had another idea. She held up a dome-like shield of black energy to protect them. All of Deathstroke's taser blasts bounced off. Raven smiled.

"What are you doing?" Beast Boy asked, irritated.

"Saving our necks," Raven replied cooly. "Not to mention formulating a plan. Notice how my power repels Deathstroke's electricity?"

"Yeah, and it's making a lot of holes in the ceiling. Cy's not going to be happy when he wakes up."

"That's not the point," Raven retorted, aggravated at Beast Boy's inability to realize where she was going with this. "See that mirror?" She pointed to a large mirror behind the hulking robot that was still shooting at him.

"Damn," Beast Boy whistled. Raven let forth a tiny smile of relief. Finally he got it. "That's a big mirror. Do I even want to know what Cy uses it for?" Raven's small smile fell. She clenched her fists and gritted her teeth. Moron.

Unfortunately her irritation caused the shield to fall, and the two Titans just managed to jump out of the way of one of the unblocked electric blast. Beast Boy's mouth dropped open when he noticed that his hair had been singed.

"Ahh, dude, my perfect hair!" he cried, running his hands through the slightly blackened tresses. Raven rolled her eyes, took a deep breath, and refashioned the shield. She kicked the distressed changeling just hard enough to get his attention. "What?"

"That still wasn't my point," she hissed, her hands trembling as a particularly powerful electric blow shook the shield. She paused a moment to concentrate, then continued. "If Deathstroke stays in that same position with his back to the mirror, I can try to angle one of his electric shots to reflect off the mirror and onto his battery pack, therefore sapping his energy like he did to Cyborg." A lightbulb finally went off in Beast Boy's head.

"Okay, I didn't understand a word you just said, but I've got a better idea!" he said, grinning. "You could, like, make it so when Deathstroke shoots at you with his electric thingy, the blast will bounce off and hit the mirror which will then hit Deathstroke which will make his battery all gone and he will go _down_, yeah! It's perfect! Go Beast Boy, Go Beast Boy, you're brilliant, with your plan now, go Beast Boy!"

It took every ounce of self control that Raven had not to strangle him right then.

"Rrr . . . y-yesss . . . exactly," Raven struggled to say. "We'll do that."

"Alright, two ingenius plans for Beast Boy when it comes to bringing down the Deathstroke! Awesome!" Raven gritted her teeth and fought not to lose control of the shield as it shuddered from her temper.

"Don't get carried away," she snapped. "This is still dangerous. In order to angle my power, I have to let go of the shield. You're going to have to run for cover."

"I can do that!"

"Yes, I have no doubt," Raven replied sarcastically. "But the problem is that Deathstroke might change his position and go after you, which would render the plan useless. So you have to be inconspicuous, okay?" Beast Boy looked at her. Raven sighed. "Turn into a tiny bug or something so Deathstroke won't see you."

"Oh, okay, awesome!"

"Yeah," Raven said, flatly. "Awesome." Her sarcasm escaped Beast Boy.

"That's the spirit!" He slapped her on the back enthusiastically. She shuddered and turned slowly, ever so slowly, towards the green changeling. He gulped and smiled nervously. She seethed. Cyborg recharged. Deathstroke kept firing.

It was going to be a long battle.

* * *

This was a longer chapter, so I hope you enjoyed it. And I threw a little of Beast Boy stupidity, even though I'm normally against it, just because I can and I miss it! I wish they would just start season 5 already. The suspense is killing me!

Okay, not much else to say, so I'm just going to move on to my reviewers, who I actually have time for today. Yay!

TheOne: I've never seen the movie, but the song sounds pretty in a sad way. I'm glad you think my story is good and more than "romance and blech", lol!

AceofSpades15: Aww, it's so nice to hear that my fic keeps you coming back and that you like my writing style. Thanks!

sapphire: Haha I wouldn't call it perfect, but I appreciate that. And as for what happens to Star, you'll just have to wait and see!

darklight989: Vegas is amazing, I've been there and had the time of my life. So much fun, I'm glad you had fun too!

DeathsLastBreath: Yes, Driver's Ed is the most boring thing ever, lol. And you're right about Starfire's memories. That innocent girl is still in there somewhere!

Death Jester: Wow, I don't think it's good enough to submit, but thanks for saying that anyway! And as for the fic lasting for a while, it's actually going to end around Chapter 20, I think, because it's gotta end sometime.

xxSassyActressxx: Yeah, Star's fighting the evil. She just doesn't know it yet.

april4rmH-town: I'm glad you liked Robin's speech, and while you're just going to have to keep reading to find out what happens to Star, just remember that I'm a fan of happy endings!

dragonofraven: I'm glad you liked Starfire's soft spot, and of course Robin's speech was "a little too something", it always is, lol.

Samanthe2121: The red glowing eyes were Starfire's, as you probably figured out from the above chapter. Now that she has the Jewel of Charta, her star bolt color is red instead of green, like it was red instead of purple for Blackfire in Betrothed.

Okay, that's all for me, so I'm going to wrap this up. Review, because I would love to eventually get 400 reviews on this fic. And I'm kinda close, so make me happy, please!

Blair


	17. Part Four: Invincible

_Evil: The Other Side_

by Blair Lebeau, SocialButterfli

Summary:

Starfire has always been sweet and innocent. But when Slade realizes her power, he brainwashes her to become his next apprentice and the Titans can only watch as she embraces the other side. Is it possible that Starfire has become truly evil? RobStar

Disclaimer:

You'd think that if I owned Teen Titans, I would have told you by now. But I don't. Still. Damn.

Quote:

"Because I don't like you." –Raven

* * *

_Part Four: Invincible_

Chapter Seventeen

_Attach the red wire to the green wire_, the Jewel of Charta directed. Starfire nimbly did so. She was sitting atop the Jump City satellite tower, right next to the large satellite dish.

"Red and green, like Christmas," she said absently. Immediately she was overcome with a splitting headache.

_Not like Christmas. Like evil. Concentrate on what you're doing._ Starfire immediately tried to shake off memories of Christmas with the Titans; decorating a beautiful tree with ornaments, expertly (or messily, in Beast Boy's case) wrapped presents that were each so special and meaningful, the singing of songs together that even Raven was coaxed to participate in, and not to mention eggnog, that creamy liquid that was almost as delicious as glorious mustard . . .

More pain rippled through Starfire's skull. It seemed that every time happy memories or innocent thoughts popped into her head, the Jewel of Charta immediately tried to get them out. And Starfire knew it was all for the best; without the Jewel of Charta, she would not be nearly as evil as she should be. However, it was starting to become a bit of a nuisance . . .

_Concentrate. Now take the conjoined wires and plug them into the machine._

She did as she was told.

_Go around the back of the dish. There is a control panel near the bottom edge. The blue rimmed outlet is where you should connect the other end of the wires._

She did this also.

_Excellent. Now all that is left to do is flip the switch . . ._

As she was about to do so, a shadow loomed over her.

"Don't do it, Star . . ."

* * *

Robin raced down the hallway, safe from Deathstroke's attack. Starfire was already out of sight and he wasn't sure how much time he had to catch up to her. He wasn't quite sure what he was going to do when it came down to a face off, but he knew that he wasn't going to back down this time. He just hoped he wouldn't have to choose between her and the city.

As he passed his room, he noticed his door was open. He paused and raised an eyebrow; he never left it open for fear of an invasion of privacy. Had Starfire . . .?

Forgetting that he had a crisis to stop, he abandoned his chase of Starfire and tentatively stepped over the threshold, keeping an eye out for something out of place. He saw it almost immediately: the picture frame he had taken from her room after her betrayal. The broken glass of the frame lay around the picture of them dancing together like a halo, showing that the frame had not merely fallen off his desk; someone had pushed it.

The Boy Wonder bent down to pick up the photo that had captured one of his most treasured memories. He held it carefully in his hand, gazing at it as if it held the solution to his problem. Starfire. So innocent and beautiful in that picture, looking at his tuxedoed figure with love shining in her emerald eyes. It was a look that she had ready for him every time they were together, and it was a look he hadn't seen in a long time.

Love . . .

Robin gently placed the picture down on his desk, looking at it longingly one more time before he turned to go. He wasn't sure what he was going to do when he got there, but he had a feeling that, somehow, he would figure it out.

* * *

"Do you understand what we're doing?" Raven half growled at Beast Boy. He crossed his arms, offended.

"Uh, _yeah_, you only explained it about fifty times. I think I got it the first time around!"

"I beg to differ." Beast Boy stuck his tongue out at the empath, but she was too busy figuring out how to angle her power so at least one of Deathstroke's repetitive electric blasts would backfire without herself or Beast Boy getting hit in the process to notice his display of immaturity.

"Are you ready?" she asked when she was sure that her calculations were correct.

"I've _been_ ready," Beast Boy replied impatiently. Raven took a deep breath.

"Okay. On the count of three. One."

Deathstroke's relentless electric blasts continued to bounce off Raven's shield.

"Two."

Both Titans tensed up in preparation.

"Three!"

The shield disappeared. A blur of green and Beast Boy had all but disappeared and scurried for cover. Raven let out a gasp as a small surge of electricity slashed through the shoulder of her cape and leotard, leaving a thin line of red. Her reflexes were quick, however, and she used her hands to fend off the constant shots. Finally a pause allowed her to position her hands so the next blast backfired, shot off the mirror, and hit Deathstroke in the back, right where its battery pack was located. A spark flared up, almost like a mini-firework, and Deathstroke's firearm dropped. Raven relaxed, victorious.

But Deathstroke wasn't done. Slade had one last surprise in wait for the Titans, should they succeed in annihilating the robot beyond repair. The titanium chest of the fried robot produced forth a screen, where the red number "10" appeared and began to count down. Raven repressed a scream and settled for a breathy whimper instead.

7 . . .

Desperately, Raven looked around for Beast Boy, but he remained out of sight.

6 . . .

She knew her power wouldn't be able to contain the explosion because she was too exhausted from holding up a constant shield during Deathstroke's earlier repetitive blasts.

5 . . .

There was no hope of saving theroom from the blow, but she could save herself.

4 . . .

And Cyborg. He was helplessly recharging.

3 . . .

And Beast Boy, if she could find him. Where was he?

2 . . .

Raven's eyes darkened furiously as she backed into Cyborg and constructed a shield around them.

1 . . .

She could only hope that Beast Boy would be okay.

_**BOOM!**_

The titanium body of Deathstroke was ripped apart as it exploded. Shrapnel bounced off of the shield and flames licked at the edges. Raven strained not to lose control. Finally, when the remaining bits of Deathstroke stopped raining down, she let the shield go and used her power to rip already protruding pipes from the walls to hose down the fire. When the fire was put out, Raven surveyed the damage done to the room. Much of Cyborg's technology had been damaged, but luckily his recharging machine had been shielded by Raven's power. Electricity was still humming uninterrupted into Cyborg's circuits, and the android himself was unharmed. The entire room was blackened and there were gaping holes in the walls that led out into the hallway and into Beast Boy's and Starfire's rooms. There was no sign of Beast Boy.

Raven collapsed to her knees, exhausted and despaired, black energy pulsing around her, signs of her anger and grief. Beast Boy was gone. Even in captivity Slade was getting to them, attacking them, trying to bring them down. And this . . . this was Starfire's doing. She had left Deathstroke to them, knowing that whether they defeated him or not they wouldn't be altogether victorious. Starfire . . . bubbly to the point of obnoxious Starfire . . . it was all her fault. She had destroyed their tower. She had destroyed Beast Boy. She had destroyed their souls.

"Damn!" Raven jumped. "That was wicked awesome!" She swivelled her head around to view a completely unharmed Beast Boy, except for a few singed hairs, sitting across the room from her and looking around, dazed. "Who knew that was going to happen?"

"What the hell?" Raven blurted out. Beast Boy looked at her, surprised.

"Rae?"

"_Where were you_?"

"What do you mean?"

"The _explosion_, the robot _meltdown_, any of that ring a bell? I looked for you, but you were nowhere to be found. I thought you were _dead_!"

"Wishful thinking, huh?" Beast Boy said, smiling sheepishly.

Raven blinked, speechless. Beast Boy chuckled.

"Aww, got a soft spot for me after all, do you?" Raven crossed her arms and glared at the smug changeling.

"Now _that_ is wishful thinking." Beast Boy shrugged, still grinning madly.

"Touche." There was a tense silence as she glared at him and he continued to smile back.

"So are you going to tell me where you were and how you survived this?" Raven asked, scathingly. Beast Boy's grin widened.

"Cockroach!" Raven resisted the urge to scream girlishly. Cockroach? Where? The dark girl may not scare easily, but she wouldn't deny that the ugly little bugs creeped her out.

Beast Boy noticed the apprehensive look on her face and waved his hands wildly to get her attention. When her eyes were on him, he transformed into a cockroach, then reverted back to human form. Smiling.

"See? Cockroach. They can survive anything, even a nuclear explosion." Raven rolled her eyes, then glared.

"Way to look out for yourself."

"It's what I do best!" Beast Boy replied. The grin on his face was of Cheshire cat proportions. The dark girl rolled her eyes.

"A cockroach. How appropriate," Raven scoffed. Beast Boy's smile faded into a confused frown.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Raven ignored him.

"Now what are we going to do about this mess?" She gestured to the demolished room. "Somebody needs to clean this up before Cyborg wakes up and flips out. I vote you."

"Me? Why me?"

"Because I don't like you."

"Hey!"

It was at this opportune moment that their argument was interrupted by the machine "dinging" to signal that Cyborg was fully recharged. His red eye lit up and he opened his other.

"**_BOOYAH!_**" Cyborg screamed right in his female teammate's ear. Raven jumped, her body shaking and her ears ringing from the volume. Beast Boy burst out laughing.

"Dude, nice! Do you say that _every_ time you wake up?" he asked. Cyborg grinned.

"Nah. This is a special occasion. I just couldn't resist." He smile faded as he looked around his room. "Hey! What the _hell_ happened here! My room! My tower!"

"Uhh . . . Rae would _love_ to explain to you while I go, uh, do something else . . ."

"Hold it," Raven hissed, grabbing the feeling changeling by the collar. "Are you guys forgetting that we still have Starfire to deal with?" The room fell silent and a feeling of gloom fell over the three Titans. They hadn't necessarily forgotten her, but their minds had been otherwise preoccupied . . . and it had been a lot less painful to think about something else.

"Yeah, let's go," Beast Boy said. "Robin might need us to back him up."

"And we'll be there if he does," Cyborg agreed.

"I just hope he knows what he's doing," Raven admitted her worry. Cyborg clapped her on the shoulder, a little too roughly, but she let it slide just this once.

"Don't worry. If there's anybody that has a chance at stopping her, or, you know, _fixing_ her . . . it's Robin."

And as the three Titans headed out to the T Car, all they could do was hope that Cyborg was right.

* * *

Okay, so I had to finish up with Raven, Beast Boy, and Cyborg before I got too into detail with Robin and Starfire. That'll come next chapter, which you probably won't see for a little while because this is my last week home before school starts. Next week I'm going down to my beach house one last time, and on the 29th I start school. Ugh. I don't even want to think about that. But anyway, as for the above chapter, take it as a hint of BBRae if you wish, or don't, whatever floats your boat. I wasn't going for either one, really, it was just what I felt was a typical Raven and Beast Boy moment, so feel free to take it as you want.

Another thing I wanted to mention is this rumor about not being allowed to answer reviewers. I think that's so stupid, especially because I haven't "officially" heard anything about it, only through an email and from some reviewers. But just to be safe, I'm going to hold off on answering you guys until I hear different. Sorry!

And this story officially has over 400 reviews! That's so exciting, thanks guys! Keep it up!

Blair


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